Loneliness
by extremeracer19
Summary: The battle with Naraku is over. Kagome is locked in her time. InuYasha is lonely again. But something is calling him from far eastern mountains. What is it? How will he face this journey all alone? Will his friends let him go? Can Kagome be happy with the life she always wanted? Takes place in the three year gap between Jewel's destruction and Kagome's return. [Ratings may change]
1. Prologue - Lonely

**Hey guys! I wanted to write a new story since my previous story Two Half Men wasn't getting any reviews. This story takes place in the time gap of three years between destruction of Shikon Jewel and her return to the feudal era. Also please do leave any reviews. I would highly appreciate them.**

**Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties from Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>In the midst of darkness, there stood a half-demon named InuYasha and a woman Kagome in an embrace that marked their reunion. For three days InuYasha fought through the hordes of demons to rescue the woman who had taught a monster to make friends and be happy, a woman who healed his wounds of loneliness. He would not let any misfortunate fall onto the woman for now she was all that was left for him. For three days Kagome stood in blank darkness with nothing but the cursed jewel in front of her, forcing her to make a wish. For three days with little courage she had in heart, she waited for the man she had fought with her life in line. And after three days with one last swipe of the sword, they were reunited. Now with the man she trusted by her side and the only person he would rely in the world by his, Kagome finally wished the jewel to disappear. With a massive explosion, several strong beams of light spread through the darkness. It was over.<p>

"Both of you fought well children." said a woman's voice.

InuYasha and Kagome turned around to see the owner of the voice. They both gasped at what they saw. In front of them stood a priestess wearing an armor and with a sword on her hilt. The priestess who was known for creating the cursed jewel, Shikon no Tama.

"Lady Midoriko" they both said in unison.

"Yes, children it is me. You have fought well and made one correct wish that was purer than any living being in this universe. My soul is finally free and so is of several others who were trapped in this cursed vessel. Your quest ends here but your journey is far from over for this is your new beginning." With these words her image began to fade. "It's time for us to part ways and for two of you as well. For now"

Suddenly the light faded and both Kagome and InuYasha found themselves in the well house in Kagome's world. In front of them, stood Kagome's family and her three friends.

"KAGOME!" her mother yelled in worry and relief.

Kagome didn't spare a moment. She threw herself in the embraces of her mother in tears.

"MOM, InuYasha saved me. InuYasha I want to…."

Suddenly she gazed in shock as the man she loved was being pulled down the well by an unknown force. But he didn't fight it. Knowing that his precious woman would be safe was enough to convince his fragile heart. He responded with a smile and said "Kagome, be happy."

"INUYASHA!" she yelled.

He was gone, locked away forever from her reach for good. Forever!

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><p>On the other side of the well sat three figures who were a fox demon, a monk and a woman waiting patiently for their friends to show up. It has been three days and they didn't move a muscle hoping that the two friends who gave them new life would show up. Suddenly they saw a pillar of light and in front of them appeared the well that had been missing for three days. Out of the well came a half-demon who had an expression that showed relief but overwhelming amount of sadness.<p>

"InuYasha, where is Kagome?" asked the fox demon. InuYasha knew he would care about Kagome since she was more like a mother to him ever since the demise of his parents by the hands of two demons called the thunder brothers. Since then the little demon has found courage to face any danger that comes in front of him.

"Don't worry Shippo. Kagome is safe, in her world." He replied

"Are you sure?" asked the monk. He had been their companion to remove a curse from his hand bestowed by the evil half-demon named Naraku which almost threatened his life. For the first time in his life he did not fear his demise. But he was looking to where this new path would now lead him.

"I'm sure Miroku." InuYasha said.

"Well why isn't she here?" asked the woman. She was a demon slayer who had to witness her father's gruesome death by the hands of her brother who has under control of Naraku. Under the pain of her father's death and to learn the slaying of her fellow villagers, she almost killed InuYasha which was a setup by the evil half-demon. Since then she joined the group travelled and fought with them and freed her brother from the strings of Naraku. InuYasha knew she was worried since Kagome was like a sister to her.

"The well pulled me away Sango. Now it's sealed for good. " InuYasha replied to her.

With these questions answered InuYasha quietly moved away from his three friends and went to the sacred tree where he met Kagome about a year ago. He sat there and stared for hours since it was the only plant having life with surroundings all eroded by Naraku's miasma.

"He is feeling really lonely." Sango said.

"He is indeed."Miroku replied.

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><p>Over the other side of the well, Kagome just stood there in the well house staring down the bone eaters well in shock. For once she was relieved of seeing InuYasha in the darkness and now fate locked him away from her forever. The pain she had faced to obtain the love of her life was now all for nothing. Now she was going to live the life she longed for but with emptiness.<p>

Kagome's friends appeared behind her.

"Kagome, what is going on? Who is your boyfriend? What is your boyfriend?" Eri asked.

"Why are you covered in bloods and bruises?"Ayumi asked.

"And why are you carrying a bow and arrow?" Yuka asked.

"If I told you, you would never believe me." Kagome replied.

"Kagome, we have seen enough weirdness around here today. It's hard not to believe in your words." Ayumi said.

Kagome gave them a sad smile and hugged them in desperate need of comfort. She them took them away from the well house and started telling them stories from beginning.

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><p>Back in feudal era, InuYasha stood in front of the tree and thought to himself.<p>

"Well, Kagome is gone now. Naraku is dead. Miroku and Sango are going to marry soon. Shippo will be going to training soon. And here I am all alone again. I'm back to being the pathetic half-demon that I once was. The half demon who ran for his life. The half demon who has no place in this cruel and uncaring world." Suddenly spring rain began to pour down on the land washing away the effects of miasma that Naraku left. People were running for tier shelter in their houses. But InuYasha just kept on staring at the tree.

Miroku and Sango went down to Kaede to inform of Kagome's safety and InuYasha's return.

"I see that Kagome is safe. And InuYasha?" she asked

"He is at the sacred tree."Miroku replied.

"He came back with sadness filled in his eyes. He said that the well pulled him away from Kagome's world and sealed itself." Sango said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he went there. Since the tree holds too many memories for him both painful and joyous. Kagome was everything in his life and I wouldn't be surprised with his loneliness." Kaede said "He has suffered enough pain in his life. Much more than us humans could endure."

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><p>From the world above the clouds, the soul of Midoriko was looking down at the lonely half-demon and the traumatized priestess.<p>

"Is this their fate?" asked a voice behind her.

"It is not. This is a trial for both of them. They can never be separated from each other for they have a bond so strong that even gods would dare to break it." Midoriko said "This separation only means they're not ready for each other yet. During this time their bond will grow stronger and when they're ready they will reunite."

"I see, I just wanted to make sure he doesn't suffer anymore. Since, I have been a burden in his life myself. That is the last thing I can do for him." the voice said.

"You did what you could to heal his heart Kikyou. This is what was written to be."Midoriko said.

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><p>That night InuYasha saw a strange red figure in the distant mountain in the east. Then he found himself surrounded by fire. Suddenly, a pair of red eye's appeared in front of him and was calling his name. With a sudden gasp InuYasha broke out of sleep. He was sleeping on the roof of Kaede's newly rebuilt hut. He looked over to the east to mountains where he saw the figure. What did he just saw? Was something calling him? What did the dream mean?<p>

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><p><strong>So how did you like it guys? Was it good or bad. So leave reviews this time since they are highly important to improve my writing skills.<strong>


	2. Prologue - My Friends

****please do leave any reviews. I would highly appreciate them.****

**Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties from Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>"INUYASHA"<p>

"INUYASHA"

"Gasp!" InuYasha woke up. "What was that?"

It had been almost a week since Kagome's departure from the feudal era. It has also been a week since he was getting those same nightmares. Every time he got that nightmare he would see the same strange red figure in the far eastern mountains and red eyes.

"I have to find out about this." He thought. "I have to go and tell Kaede."

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><p>He jumped down the tree and headed towards the old priestesses house. He walked down the road with memories from the past year flooding into his mind. Entering the hut he called for Kaede. The old priestess was sitting in front of the fire with company from Miroku, Sango and her little brother Kohaku. Shippo on the other hand was already off. The village was still being rebuilt and with Naraku's miasma leaving a great damage to the lands, timber became scarce. With three friends having no place to live, they were living at Kaede's until the village would be rebuilt and after that Miroku would ask the villager's to build them a house. Since Miroku and Sango promised to marry each other after the battle InuYasha thought it would be best to stay away from them to give them some private time. InuYasha then settled down near the fire.<p>

"What brings you this early in the morning InuYasha?" Kaede asked.

"Yes, you were missing for almost a week." Miroku said.

"I have been getting this nightmare where I see a strange red figure standing on one of the mountains from the Far East. Then I see fire all around me and a pair of red eyes starts calling my name." InuYasha explained. "I think something is calling me to those mountains."

"Hmm! It seems so. Are you sure you feel like you are being called?" she asked "After all a nightmare can also be just an illusion."

"No, it can't be an illusion. For almost a week now I have been getting this nightmare." He replied.

"So you plan on going towards the eastern mountains?" Sango asked.

"Yes, I am going. If it has been calling me then there must be something." InuYasha replied. "I guess I will be beginning from tomorrow morning."

"Don't you think it's too early InuYasha?" Kohaku asked. "The battle is just over and you are already planning on going on another journey. Stay for a few days and take some rest."

"The boy is right InuYasha. You don't need to hurry on another journey yet."Kaede said.

"Sorry, but I cannot stay. If I don't keep moving then I won't be able to live my life." InuYasha replied.

"You don't need to keep on running anymore InuYasha."Kaede said. "You can live peacefully over here without any problems."

"No, I am not running. I just want to get over this thing as soon as possible." He said. "I just want to find out what this thing is."

There was a silence for a while. They knew he was lying just to get away from here. Kaede took an excuse and went outside. Nobody could come up with any more argument. They knew the stubborn half-demon. He would do anything to get what he wanted. The four humans in the room stared at each other for a while. Miroku gave Sango and Kohaku a look that only meant one thing. They knew what he was trying to say, so they nodded in agreement.

"When are you leaving, again?" Miroku asked.

"Tomorrow morning."InuYasha said "Why do you ask?"

"You shall only go on this journey, if you agree on a condition." Miroku replied.

"And what is that?" InuYasha asked.

"That we assist you on this journey." He replied.

"No, you won't."InuYasha said.

"Why can't we? We are friends after all." Sango said

"I don't need anybody and besides I can't allow that. This journey may be dangerous and you three have just survived and almost lost your lives during the battle."InuYasha said.

"Look my frie…."

"NO! You three are going to start a new life here. Remember Miroku the wind tunnel almost sucked you in, Sango don't forget the fact that you made a rash decision to go through a cloud of miasma without your mask and Kohaku keep in mind that you were already killed and resurrected twice. Do you think after all that I would let you face danger again?" InuYasha said in a loud voice cutting out Miroku.

For the first time Miroku couldn't argue with InuYasha. Sango couldn't find words to speak. Kohaku just kept silent. They knew InuYasha was right. They just hung their head down. InuYasha stood up and headed to the door.

"Listen, you three have suffered a great deal and have a whole life ahead of you. You guys have a family now and I am not going to let it get torn down again because of my selfishness. I don't want any of you to live your life in loneliness like I have been living all my life." InuYasha said.

With these words InuYasha went outside. Miroku, Sango and Kohaku just sat there in silence.

"What do we do now?" Sango asked.

"We follow him, whether he agrees or not." Miroku said. "We have to tell Kaede about this."

"Sister, what was he talking about his lonely life?" Kohaku asked curiously.

"That's for another day Kohaku. It's a long story." Sango said. "Miroku"

"Yes, my dear Sango?"

"I think its best I stay here in the village. There won't be anybody to protect here and I don't think it's best for me to stay with you in front of InuYasha." Sango said.

Miroku tried to disagree but he understood where she was going with this talk. He only nodded in agreement.

"What surprises me is that he still thinks he is alone." Sango said.

"I'm not surprised that he thinks that way. His life is meaningless without Kagome. He still thinks himself as the tainted half-breed he once was." Miroku pointed out.

"I am sure he is running away from here. He doesn't care if he dies or not. I could see it in his eyes." Kohaku said. "Brother-in-law, I will come with you."

"Okay, then we must act fast. We must be ready for this journey." Miroku said. He got up and was ready to go when Sango called him. "Miroku, I need to talk to you alone."

Kohaku went outside and Miroku sat in front of Sango. There was silence for a while.

"Promise me, Miroku."Sango suddenly spoke up.

"Huh!" Miroku was surprised.

"Promise me that you won't cheat on me." Sango said "Promise me, that you will return no matter what."

Miroku was caught off guard. He couldn't believe that Sango would think such way. But he blamed himself for the reason for her to be thinking this way.

"I promise Sango. I will come back no matter what for we promised to die together" Miroku promised. Sango was relieved to hear this.

"However, I don't know whether I will be able to fulfill your first promise or not." Miroku said with a lecherous grin.

"MIROKU!" Sango yelled. She was about to plant a potato on Miroku's head. However she saw playfulness in his eyes indicating that he was just joking. She pulled back and giggled. He then pulled her in an embrace. As a way to thank her, Miroku caressed her bottom with those cursed hands of his. As a way to say welcome, Sango gave a hard slap that would leave a mark. But at least it would remind him that his wife-to-be is still waiting for him. However, both of them didn't feel violated for it might take a very long time for them to see each other again. After a warm moment Miroku stood up and went out to prepare for his journey. Sango stood there alone staring at the fireplace with nothing left but ashes of the morning fire. Suddenly she heard a mew from her side. She turned around to look at Kirara who was rubbing herself on Sango's leg. She patted the cat and gave a deep sigh. She knew this wasn't going to be easy.

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><p>That night Kaede was sitting in front of fire thinking of those 50 years when InuYasha was under her responsibility until Kagome took it. Miroku, Sango and Kohaku were already asleep.<p>

"Oi, Kaede"

The old priestess turned to find the half-demon standing at her doorsteps. The half-demon who was still young in her eyes while she aged.

"What brings you at this time of the night InuYasha?" Kaede asked.

"I'm going. I came to say goodbye." InuYasha replied.

"Weren't you planning on going tomorrow morning?" Kaede asked.

"Keh! That monk will follow me I know it." InuYasha said.

"It seems I will not be able to stop you this time." Kaede said.

"Like you have never been able to." InuYasha replied.

"Before you go InuYasha, I would like to ask you a question." Kaede said.

"Huh!"

"Why do you plan on running away from this place?" Kaede asked.

"It's because I don't have a life to have a meaning in life. Nobody will care whether I die or not. There won't be anybody to cry for me. If anybody will come looking for me then it's because of Kagome. They know if Kagome returned somehow she would not be able to live without me." InuYasha said. "The reason Miroku and Sango became my friends was because of her. To them I was a monster in the beginning. So, as a thank you to them for keeping up with me for this past year, I would like to leave them alone and let them live."

"Then go InuYasha. I shall not argue with you." Kaede said "However, remember that no matter what, you still have a place in this world."

InuYasha didn't respond. He simply stood up.

"I should be going now. Please give them my regards when they wake up." InuYasha said.

Kaede nodded and InuYasha went outside. Before he left the village he looked back at it as memories started going through his mind. He then went to the bone-eaters well and looked down.

"Kagome, I will return. I promise." InuYasha said.

He then set off on his journey. This time a different one for there will be no Kagome to be by his side and no friends to accompany him. To his unknowing a pink round figure noticed him from high above the sky.

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><p>Back in the modern day, Kagome was standing still in front of her high school gate staring at the building. It was her first day at school and she was almost late.<p>

"This is the life I wanted." She said to herself.

Then she went inside to get her routine and went to her class.

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><p><strong>So did you like it guys? Was it good or bad? Please do leave a review.<br>**


	3. Prologue - Parting Ways

****please do leave any reviews. I would highly appreciate them.****

**Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties from Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>High above in the sky in the moonlight, Shippo who was heading back to Kaede's village looked down at InuYasha leaving the village late in the night. He was in his travelling form which was a big pink floating balloon with big eyes.<p>

"I wonder where he is going." He thought. "Maybe he will come back in the morning."

To his unknowing he would be proven horribly wrong. Dawn broke out on the land as the rooster invited a new day to the land and people woke up to start a new beginning. Miroku woke up early followed by Kohaku and Sango to prepare for the boys upcoming journey. They saw Kaede cooking breakfast. She always woke up before dawn to give her morning prayers to the gods.

"Oh! I see you're awake now children." Kaede said "Come and sit down and have some meal."

"We should hurry though."Miroku said "InuYasha might go anytime soon. We must not lose his trail."

"I think it's a bit too late for that." Kaede said.

"Huh! What do you mean lady Kaede?" Kohaku asked.

"He is already on his way." She replied. "He came here last night to bid his farewell."

"Oh god" Sango said in a frustrated manner. "Why didn't you wake us up then?"

"He didn't allow me to." Kaede said "On the other hand it would do no good. Since you boys are going to follow him, I thought it would be wise for you two to rest."

"But Lady Kaede, it would have been a lot of help if you had told us so."Miroku said. "Now we certainly have lost his trail."

"It would have been helpful. However I do think you three should let him handle this all alone." Kaede said.

"We would have let him handle this all by himself." Miroku said. "However it is not wise to have happiness when the person who gave it to you is drowned in sadness."

"Miroku is right. Without InuYasha I think I would never have been able to save Kohaku, and I think I would even have killed myself. He always gave me hope that Kohaku can be saved." Sango said.

"As for me InuYasha showed me the reason to live. Now he is just running away to kill himself. I cannot allow that." Kohaku said.

"It looks like I won't be able to stop you three as well. Get ready then you all have a long road ahead of you." Kaede said.

"Don't worry lady Kaede. I will stay back here to protect the village." Sango said.

"Do you think that would be a wise decision to make?" Kaede asked.

"I think its best I stay back." Sango replied with a drop in her tone.  
>It was evident that Sango did not want to stay away from Miroku and Kohaku. Miroku could easily see that in her face.<p>

"You know Sango you don't have to stay back here. If you want to go you are to free to go." Kaede suggested.

"No I think it's best this way." Sango replied.

"How do we track him now? He might be days away from us." Miroku said

"Maybe I can help." a voice from outside spoke up.

At once Shippo came inside.

"Shippo, Weren't you going to training?"Kaede asked.

"Oh! Some idiot fox demons went rouge and our masters been given responsibility to bring them back." Shippo said "So what is going on?"

"Kohaku and I were going to follow InuYasha. He is running away." Miroku said. "But now we have no track of where he is going. Although we still know his destination, anything can happen."

"I did see him yesterday night. He was taking the path through the forests."Shippo said.

"Then why didn't you stop him?" Kohaku asked.

"I thought he would come back. He always has." Shippo said.

"Conditions are different now. Back then he had Kagome to come back to."Miroku said. "Now he has nobody to come back to. Or that's what he thinks."

"Stupid InuYasha, haven't we always been there for him?" Shippo cried out.

"He thinks we have been there for him for Kagome's sake. It was our fault we made him feel like that. By the ways we still owe him for the life he gave us. After all he is a part of our family." Miroku said. "Well we have wasted enough time. We must get going as soon as possible."

"Does he feel that lonely?" Shippo asked. Everyone simply nodded.

They all ate breakfast as they started planning their routes. Sango suggested them to take Kirara to assist them on their journey. They had no time to argue, so they simply agreed. Sango also suggested Miroku to become much more careful since his wind tunnel ceased to exist the moment Naraku was killed. They packed up and they began to leave.

"Shippo." Miroku called.

"Yes?" Shippo called back.

"I need to talk to you alone for a while."Miroku replied.

They went outside to talk for a while. After all since Miroku would be gone for a very long time, they would have no time to talk to each other.

"Shippo, whatever you do, please stay beside Sango." Miroku requested. "Please don't make her feel alone. Whenever she feels alone please, stay beside her."

"I promise Miroku. I will not fail you." Shippo said with determination in his eyes.

Shippo had grown very much braver than he used to be. He took every challenge without any hesitation. There once used to be a small fox demon. A fox demon who used to be scared of every risk and obstacle that would be in front of him. Now that fox demon was taking huge responsibilities. Miroku couldn't believe Shippo was that fox demon. A moment later Kohaku came outside informing the monk that his sister called him inside. Happy with the determination the little fox demon was showing Miroku went inside. Inside near the fire pit Sango was sitting alone.

"Sango, what's the matter?" Miroku asked.

"It's nothing. I wanted to have a moment with you one last time." Sango replied.

Miroku turned her head towards him and looked into her eyes. He saw sadness fueled by fear of loneliness.

"Don't worry Sango. You will not be alone. Shippo will be with you here. There are probably other people in the village that you might want to talk to."Miroku said pulling Sango into a hug.

"Please Miroku, bring back InuYasha. Our family is incomplete without him and Kagome." Sango requested. "He too is our brother."

"I promise Sango, I will bring him back and I and Kohaku will come back in one piece as well." Miroku promised.

They pulled back and looked at each other. Sango then threw herself forward and locked her lips with Miroku's. The monk could not believe what was happening. The woman who used to mark his cheeks red was now locking lips with him. Miroku didn't think anymore for it was now or never. So he returned her actions. To Sango's amusement the monk had not realized this was the second time she had kissed him since he was unconscious when the Jewels evil side who named himself Magatsuhi poisoned him. They pulled back after a moment and then Sango giggled.

"Come back and you will get more than this." Sango said in a seductive tone.

"When did you become so bold woman?" Miroku asked.

"I am going to be your wife. Only I am allowed to be bold towards you. Now enough talk, get going monk or you may never get it." Sango replied.

Miroku gave a lecherous grin indicating that he would definitely be coming soon to get what his woman was offering. Now he would certainly return to her. Both of them stood up and went outside. Kohaku was waiting for Miroku outside.

"Kohaku, don't ever give up hope and don't ever blame yourself for the actions that isn't you fault." Sango said.

"I promise sister. I shall not throw away the life I have been given." Kohaku promised.

With these words Kohaku, Miroku and Kirara began their journey for their half-demon brother. As the three began to disappear into the horizon a pain of guilt hit her and sadness took over her heart once again. She simply went inside hoping not to break down in the middle of the village. Shippo noticed this and followed her inside. Sango looked at the hut and settled down in the corner. Did she make the right choice by letting them go? Why did InuYasha have to be so hard to handle? These were the questions that rose in her head as she terribly fought back the tears from coming down her eyes.

"Sango" Shippo called her name.

Sango turned towards the boy. She didn't say a word. She just simply pulled him in an embrace cuddling the little bundle and cried hard letting her sorrow go away from her heart. If someone was there to teach her to cry, it was Kagome. She had tried once hard not to let her sorrow overcome her heart and tried to be rigid and strong from within to defeat Naraku. But humans are humans and they are prone to these pain and feelings. So she simply gave into her feelings and broke down in the arms of Kagome.

Shippo wasn't happy with what was happening. They had been through hell together and now after Naraku finally got defeated, when they finally got a chance to rest, they were slowly breaking apart. Kagome getting locked in her world, InuYasha running away into another journey, Miroku and Kohaku going after him and Sango left behind the village all alone. 'This is all InuYasha's fault' was the only thing that came up in his mind. He would make him pay once he got back. He didn't know that InuYasha was suffering an even worse trauma. He could see everyone's pain but not InuYasha's. All InuYasha did was bully him, often ignoring Kagome and going after Kikyo which left her heartbroken and now he was tearing down Sango's family. Maybe if he didn't exist this would have never happened. But he realized that this was the exact mentality InuYasha was running away from and without him they wouldn't have made it this far.

Deep in the forest InuYasha was slowly walking through for he wasn't in rush to return this time because there was nothing to return to now. He had been journeying for almost a week now and it was night time already. Suddenly there came rustling sound from the bushes. InuYasha immediately became alert and readied his claws. Suddenly, a boy in his teenage years came running out of the bushes with a girl on his back. Both of them saw the alert half demon that was in front of them.

"Who are you?" InuYasha asked.

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><p><strong>So that's it for this chapter guys. A story arc begins from next chapter. I don't know how long will it be but I am planning three arcs before the final arc with a couple of one shots. I will upload Chapter 4 next week. Also I am planning a one shot for Feb 14. P<strong><strong>lease do leave any reviews if you like the story.<strong>****

******Me and InuYasha: I began this fiction with a completely different setting and concept. Also I wrote this story because a lot of the fan fictions I find are either High School stories, post-manga stories, Inuyasha as rapist stories and Sesshomaru X Kagome stories(Seriously? Kikyo fansgirls.).  
><strong>****

******Until next time guys.******


	4. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Strangers

**Hey Guys! Thanks for the review on this story and my one-shot 'Together Forever'. I highly appreciate them and now I really know that you guys like it.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties of Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>"Who are you?"InuYasha asked.<p>

"Get out of my way. I have no time for you demon." The boy said in a loud voice.

"Make me." InuYasha said.

Suddenly, a large pack of demons came out from behind the couple. They were immediately thrown over to a nearby tree and were knocked unconscious. The demons noticed the half-demon and diverted their attack to him. InuYasha sharpened his claws and started slashing all the demons down one by one. He didn't use the Tessaiga however, for he thought these demons were not worth Tessaiga's wrath and his claws were enough to finish them all. Seeing the power of the half-demon the pack decided to retreat. This half-demon was too powerful for them to handle.

"You shall not have the girl, half-demon." The pack leader said.

InuYasha was confused. They were after this girl? What was so special about this girl? Why was the boy in such a hurry? These questions constantly bugged InuYasha. He moved towards the unconscious couple. InuYasha decided to leave. But would he be able to?

These two were in serious danger. They were not even conscious. With those demons after the girl, who knew what they would do to her. If Kagome had been with him she wouldn't even have the thought of leaving these two alone in such a condition and she would have cared for them until they felt good. These two were completely helpless, so InuYasha decided to stay with the two unconscious bodies until they regained their consciousness. He picked up the two bodies and moved away from the open lane and moved through the trees and put them down in front of one. He then settled down in a nearby tree. Looking at them somehow again reminded him of the days he was living a few months back, the days when Kagome used to be by his side. How he used to carry her on his back through the lands. He also laughed at the fact how Kagome had managed to change him a lot. Back then he wouldn't have cared if anybody died or survived. But here he is looking after two people that were complete strangers to him. Back then to defeat just even a small number of demons he would have drawn out the Tessaiga and would have attacked them with the Wind Scar. But now he just felt drawing out the Tessaiga at situations like these was just not worth the effort.

He then went to sleep for if he was going to look after them, he would need some energy. He hadn't had any sleep ever since he began his journey because he thought he wasn't going to encounter a situation like this and being a half-demon he could go on for almost a month without a sleep.

That night InuYasha saw that dream again. But this time he was looking at the mountains from where he was sleeping and a faint black mist was surrounding the red eyes that lay amongst the fire.

InuYasha woke up again. This had been yet another time he saw that dream. It was eating him from inside. What did this dream mean? Would he be able to sleep again? He had to get to the bottom of this. He had to solve this as soon as possible.

However as much as InuYasha wanted to get over this, he didn't wanted to return anytime soon either. He looked at the horizon as the sun slowly crept out indicating the beginning of a new day. But to InuYasha, every day was the same day where he was all alone and running for his life.

Then a small grumbling sound came from the tree beside him. The boy was waking up from his deep slumber. He then opened his eyes to see a blurred figure in front of him.

"What? Where are we?" he asked.

Then his vision slowly began to clear as he began to see the half-demon in front of him.

"Huh! Who are you? What are you? Why are you here?" he asked in a panicked voice.

"Isn't it obvious? You were attacked by demons." InuYasha replied.

"Why did you save us?" he asked.

"You're alive. Isn't that enough?" InuYasha replied.

"Huh! So you're also after her." he yelled in a loud voice.

"What? Wa…." InuYasha tried to reason but got cut off.

"Get away from her you monster. I won't let you have her." He said shielding the girl in front her with his body.

The commotion caused by the two woke up the girl. She saw the boy standing like a wall in front of her.

"I got nothing against this girl. If I was after her, I would have long taken her while you were unconscious." InuYasha argued.

"I apologize for interfering but what is going on?" the girl asked.

"Don't talk to this vile abomination." The boy barked at her.

These words were enough to anger the half-demon in front of him. He was used to the word half-demon. He was used to the word half-breed. But nobody had the right to call anybody a vile abomination. He saved their sorry lives and this was how they repaid him, by calling him a vile abomination. The girl saw InuYasha's anger flaring and realized that if the boy didn't apologize soon then the scene in front of her would not be pretty.

"That's not the way to thank the one who saved your life. Please, let's apologize and leave." The girl said to the boy.

"Don't you see this creature here is after you, I am certain once we leave he will come after us to the destination and do his selfish job." The boy said in a loud voice.

"You know what? No human in years has ever called me a vile abomination. That word sickens me to hell. But since you had the guts to call me that, I have a special way to say welcome to respond to your thank you." InuYasha said with rage flaring in his eyes.

Within a split second InuYasha dashed forward in an inhuman speed and landed his punch on the face of the boy. The boy was knocked down to the ground. He was unconscious, but not dead. InuYasha never killed humans. It wasn't in his rulebook to ever kill humans for his mother was human. He didn't really want to be a monster to the eyes that called him a monster. In fact he wanted to prove that half-demons like him did have feelings like humans.

InuYasha came back to consciousness as the girl in front of him kept shaking the boy to wake him up. Without saying a word InuYasha quietly headed his way.

"YOU JERK!" the girl yelled.

InuYasha suddenly jerked his head up. She called him a jerk. That was a very Kagome thing to do. Only she stood up against him and called her that. InuYasha turned his head around and looked at the girl who had a frustrated look in her eyes.

"You called me a jerk? Why?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, I called you a jerk because you are one. How do you think I am supposed to carry him alone? He just woke up and now he is unconscious again. Do you think I am as strong as you that I carry this heavy boy by myself? I can't even pick up a rock….." and she went on and on. First, yelled a boy who called him a vile abomination and now, a girl who was calling him a jerk. InuYasha felt as if she was dropping the hell on his head. Even Kagome knew when to stop. But this woman was just making him defeat by simple use of carefully chosen word. This certainly wasn't pretty.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry and I've heard enough." InuYasha said in a frustrated voice.

"Sorry won't do." The girl said crossing her hands and turning around.

InuYasha gave a long sigh and said. "Fine, what do I need to do?"

"Take us to our destination." The girl said pointing to the east.

'Well, at least it's on my way.' InuYasha thought as he gave the girl a nod.

"Thank You" The girl said turning to him and giving a wide smile.

What was up with this girl? Just moments ago she was asking for apology, then she bursts out in anger and now within moments she is giving him a smile. InuYasha gave a long sigh thinking that it was going to be a hard time being with these two.

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><p>"Uhh! Where the hell am I?" The boy said slowly regaining his consciousness. "Huh! What the…"<p>

He was being carried by InuYasha. The boy had been a really great deal of trouble for the half-demon.

"Put me down." The boy yelled.

"Shut up, you have given me enough trouble already." InuYasha shouted back.

"Hey I am not a kid." The boy said. "I don't need to be carried around like this."

"Well stop acting like one." InuYasha yelled.

The boy kept quiet. This wasn't happening to InuYasha. The boy was around Kagome's age and he still didn't mature. Well, once upon a time InuYasha hadn't too. But Kagome changed most of that.

"Hey Suzume" InuYasha called.

The girl turned towards InuYasha.

"You said his name is Nobuhiro, right?" InuYasha asked. The girl gave him a nod.

"Well, Nobuhiro I don't know what you've got with this girl and I don't know why the demons were attacking you. But if you give me more trouble than I can handle then it's goodbye for you from me." InuYasha said.

"Go ahead then kill me. You will be shocked." The boy said.

'Gosh! This boy is so narrow minded.' InuYasha thought.

"I didn't mean to kill you, you idiot. Your friend needs you here and you think of dying." InuYasha yelled.

The boy named Nobuhiro then remained quiet. How on earth did Kagome stood up with him? Was he this hard to handle back then? These thought plagued InuYasha's mind.

"Uhm! Is this necessary?" Nobuhiro asked. InuYasha looked back and the boy showed his hands pointing out to the ropes that tied them. InuYasha smiled and looked down at the subjugation beads he was wearing. Even if he was that hard to handle, then it was made sure she had enough tools to keep him in line.

"No, I don't think I would get them off anytime soon. You would only give me more trouble if I did, so behave yourself and I might get them off pretty sooner than you know." InuYasha said.

"I said I am not a KID." Nobuhiro yelled.

"Well, stop acting like one." InuYasha replied back.

The girl named Suzume, giggled at the sight in front of her.

"Don't worry Nobu he's not going to eat you." Suzume said.

For some reason Nobuhiro gave a light blush and he hid his face. InuYasha noticed this and grinned at the memory of him blushing when he would be around Kagome. He knew what was between these two for it was the same story between him and Kagome. Then everyone stayed quiet and they went on with their journey.

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><p>On the other side of the forest, Miroku, Kohaku and Kirara were continuing their journey through the forest.<p>

"Now what do we do?" Kohaku asked.

"I don't know. It's way late to do this. I don't think even Kirara is ready to do this now." Miroku said.

Kirara gave a mew which indicated her agreement to the monk's words.

"My dear InuYasha, why did you have to be such a heavy bale of rice on our backs?" Miroku said as he looked down at the path which forked into five different paths. They were lost, really lost. Then something caught Kohaku's attention.

A monkey was sitting on a stump in front of them looking at the trio as it scratched its head in confusion.

"What are you looking at?" Kohaku asked the monkey.

The monkey gave a loud scream and then jumped away.

"Well, that isn't a good sign." Kohaku said.

"At least these monkeys won't shower you with acorns." Miroku said. "Let's get some sleep before we begin for tomorrow."

Kohaku nodded and they both settled down and rested for the night. Little did they know the monkey that they had just chased away was about to give them a whole lot of trouble.

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><p><strong>So that's it for this chapter guys. I will try to post chapter 5 next week. Please do leave reviews because I do need to improve my stories and writing. Also I would like to know if this chapter was as good as previous ones or not because when I was writing this Funimation announced the English dub for Attack on Titan. So I was in Titan mode and not Demon mode when I was writing this chapter. Also this is the first chapter of my first of three planned arcs and first chapter I introduce my original characters. Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you like it.<strong>

**Inspiration for this story:**

**I got this idea for quite some time now. Before I started watching Final Act (English Dubs weren't available at the time) I always wondered what InuYasha did when Kagome wasn't there (back then I wasn't even remotely interested in anime until I watched it and the whole series grabbed my attention). After I watched the whole series, for almost past six months I got constant ideas bombarding in my head. I used to listen to songs and then I used to imagine scenes with the song as the background music (Trust me one of them was 90's Metallica and neither of them either from Modern Music a.k.a Justin Cough Cough Beiber). It was only a few weeks ago that I got enough motivation to do my own fanfiction. That reason alone I don't want to ruin this story.**

**Until next time guys.**


	5. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Monkey Problems

**Hey guys! Just like I promised I updated a new chapter. Here is chapter 5. But I updated this one day ahead. Also I uploaded another one shot. So if you're interested you can check it out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties of Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>As moonlight hit the land, InuYasha was sitting on a branch of a tree. He kept looking at the stars hoping it would ease the pain in his heart. Suzume noticed a lost InuYasha sitting on a branch as she approached him. Nobuhiro was long asleep.<p>

"InuYasha" Suzume called him and he looked down towards her.

"You're not asleep yet?" InuYasha asked.

"I just woke up. I just wanted to look at the stars." She replied.

"Yeah, beautiful aren't they?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, they are. Sometimes it just makes you feel happy and warm inside. My family used to say that if you look at the stars they will remind you of your loved ones because after they leave you it's there where they go. That's why watching it will make you feel happy." Suzume said.

InuYasha at that moment felt his heart would fall off his chest. He remembered everyone who had died for him. His mother, father, Kikyo, but more than anyone he remembered Kagome who was yet not dead but somewhere ,someplace she would be sitting under these same skies looking at the stars that shone in the night. He wasn't feeling happy, he was feeling pain remembering them.

"Hey! Suzume" InuYasha called her.

Suzume looked up to InuYasha.

"What happened to your parents? Your loved ones." he asked.

"They were all killed. Our whole village was burned down. Men were all killed on the spot and women were captured and executed. But somehow I managed to survive." She replied with a sudden drop in her voice.

"Oh! Sorry." InuYasha apologized.

"You don't have to be. It's not like you killed them. You asked me a question and I answered it." Suzume replied.

"So were they attacked by demons?" InuYasha asked.

"No by humans. They were all killed for their selfish purposes because our people were different and we could be used for their personal gain. But in the end, that resulted into nothing because for this selfish act those murderers died a painful death as well." Suzume replied. InuYasha could easily notice the anger and hatred in her voice.

This case was very much unheard of. He had always heard of humans being prey of demons. But humans killing humans was only heard between armies of soldiers and bandits. What type of wild politics was this? Humans were selfish, but what personal gain came from killing a group of innocent villagers, unless they were bandits. But then again which bandit would kill men's on the spot and save women's to execute later? But how did the humans who killed the villagers die as well? These are rare cases that InuYasha heard for the first time.

However it was almost midnight and these questions could be answered later. He didn't want to tangle his thoughts any more.

"Go get some sleep. We have to get going tomorrow morning." InuYasha suggested.

"Okay, but you should get some sleep as well." Suzume replied and she went to sleep.

But InuYasha couldn't sleep. What if the dream attacked him again? InuYasha gave a long sigh and looked down at the sleeping couple. Suzume had snuggled close to Nobuhiro. Somehow InuYasha wished Kagome to be with him, so he too could lie beside her and hold her and fall asleep. But she was not here. She never will be. She is safe and that is more important than fulfilling his wish. But a part of him just felt comfort in holding this wish. So, with these wishes held in his heart, he promised never to let it go even if it never gets fulfilled as dawn broke out over the earth.

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><p>Light slowly flourishing over the land Miroku and Kohaku woke up to greet the fresh late spring morning air before the arrival of cruel and unforgiving summer heat. It had been a hard night deciding where to go since they were new to this forest as they had not explored this part of the land.<p>

Kohaku stretched his arms as Miroku got up to give his morning prayers. But something was wrong. Their goods were missing. The travel bundles they had were not there anymore. Miroku's staff was missing. His spare sutras were missing. Kohaku's weapons were missing. Suddenly Kirara gave a loud hiss and caught Kohaku's attention.

Not for once Kohaku could believe what he was seeing. There far in the open stood a group of monkey's dancing around. But to his horror they were dancing around with their travel items. There was one which was rummaging around their bundles for interesting stuffs to find. There was another one flying around from tree to tree wearing Kohaku's spare clothes as a cape. There was another one which had impaled Kohaku's sickle high up in a tree and was swinging on the chain of the sickle like a jungle man would. Then there was the main attraction as a monkey which was carrying Miroku's staff, was dancing around like an Indian hermit (baba ji) while a bunch monkey were throwing spare sutras at the dancing monkey like it was some sort of money.

"HEY!" Kohaku yelled.

The monkey's at an instant realizing their presence were known, ran away from the spot immediately going in different directions. The two boys had no other option but to run after them.

"Oh, great lord Buddha. Why do your holy servants have to do this?" Miroku said.

This wasn't happening to them. They thought a demon would be hard to handle. They thought running for their lives would be hard to handle. But for that moment, nothing was as hard as running after a dozen monkeys carrying their goods in dozen different directions. Their primary goal was to go after InuYasha and here they were running after a group of monkeys.

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><p>There on the other side of the forest a different group of monkeys would cause havoc as InuYasha and his two companions were walking through a lane.<p>

"Dammit there are too many monkeys in this region. Hope they don't become any trouble." InuYasha said.

"Hope so. They tend to be very troublesome." Nobu said.

"Explaining troublesome to me? Keh! You should have your stuck hand to a rock by some magic and then come tell me troublesome." InuYasha replied.

"Yeah right like someone has become for us." Nobu replied indicating to InuYasha.

InuYasha understood the jab. This boy was starting to get on his nerves. Who the hell was he to throw jabs at the InuYasha? The InuYasha who fought with the cursed jewel and proved victorious was being bullied by a mere human. Well, until you put his companions in place, then he would be victorious.

"Look Nobu, was that punch not enough for you yesterday? Do I need to put you to sleep everytime?" InuYasha asked in a very frustrated tone making a shaking fist with his hands.

Nobuhiro getting the threat hid behind Suzume as a way to protect himself from the wrath of the half-demon. InuYasha seeing the action began to cool down. Maybe now he would shut up.

"Ask that again, fuzzy ears." Nobu cried out.

He was wrong. This fool would never shut up. There is only one way to shut this fool. But how could he? There was a girl standing in between him. If she hadn't been there maybe he would have gotten a nice banging in his head. He could do nothing and that bastard knew it because he knew his woman well. Once again if he gets unconscious again then he would get a strong lecture again. This fool was humiliating InuYasha for the fact that he couldn't do anything against him. He even called him fuzzy ears. What's with the ears? Girls just squeal at it. Kids just start tugging it around. Have they got some problem with them?

"I AM NOT FUZZY EARS YOU HALF WIT. I AM A HALF-DEMON, GOT THAT HALF-DEMON. AND WHAT'S UP WITH MY EARS THAT YOU START HUMILIATING ME? MY EARS ARE NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. MY EARS ARE A PART OF ME. YOU GOT THAT?" InuYasha yelled with his two arms flapping up and down in frustration.

"So you're a half-demon, how sad." Nobu said taunting the half-demon in front of him.

That's it, he crossed his limit. InuYasha's patience snapped in half. Without saying anything he just stamped forward, pushed the girl aside and planted a nice sweet potato on his head. But this time he was careful not to put him to sleep. If there was one person in the world he would avoid at the moment it would be Suzume in her berserk mode.

"Hey, why didn't you stop him?" Nobu yelled at Suzume gently rubbing the newly planted vegetable on his head.

"You crossed your limit." She replied crossing her arms and her eyes made thin.

However something else caught their attention. Unknowing to them the trio had gained some audience to their melodrama. InuYasha's anger broke its limit as monkey's just sat there laughing at the amusing scene in front of them. No, they were not laughing at the act, they were mocking the group.

InuYasha for once couldn't think rationally. His anger got the better of him. He had enough problems for one day. There was in no need for more.

"I had enough of this crap." InuYasha yelled as he drew his Tessaiga.

The couple near him watched with wide eyes as a bland rusted katana transformed into a huge sword.

"What the hell is that?" Nobu said with wide eyes.

"How am I supposed to know?" Suzume replied in a low voice.

"WIND SCAR!" InuYasha yelled as five bright streaks of lights ripped through the soil destroying everything in its path.

He tried not to use the Tessaiga let alone use the Wind Scar. But he just couldn't handle it. Every living being has a limit of resistance. InuYasha's just broke to new records. Within seconds all the trees in front of him were wiped out clean as monkeys were thrown all over the place. Realizing danger they all started to run away.

Suzume and Nobuhiro just sat there hugging each other in great shock as they saw with wide eyes what this half-demon could do. Nobuhiro for once finally decided he was not going to mess with this half-demon any longer. His own personal ego could not be met with the power of this half-demon. Suzume decided she would be very polite with him. Snapping back to reality the two realized what position they were in. They immediately pulled back with big blushes on their faces looking away from each other.

"How's that you pathetic primates? Try laughing at that now." InuYasha yelled in victory.

But trouble wasn't gone. Immediately there was a loud sound of an animal. Then there came sounds of footsteps that felt like earthquake hitting the land. InuYasha gripped his sword even tighter ready to face anything that came in front of him. InuYasha never backed out of a battle. But little did he know that for the first time in his life he would not be able to stand against the being which was approaching him.

InuYasha stared in horror as a huge Gorilla looking demon appeared in front of him. Usually InuYasha's wind scar would be enough to destroy a giant within seconds. But this time it was different. This time the monster was just too large. Well, let's say the ape was of colossal size.

"Well, what do we do now?" Nobu asked.

"RUN!" InuYasha replied in a loud voice as he started to run.

But something pulled him back.

"I SAID RUN DAMNIT." he yelled again as he picked up the two fools who were frozen on the spot and saddled them on his back as he started to run.

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><p>On the other side of the forest Miroku and Kohaku with the help of their feline friend Kirara finally got back all the expertise that had been stolen by the Monkeys. For the first time in these two boys life, a group of a dozen monkeys had far more exhausted them than a thousand demons. For the first time the slayer got the slice of a normal humans life and not the one of slayers. For the first time the monk was made a monkey out of himself.<p>

"This is one day I don't want to remember." Kohaku said.

"True, but I warn you because you will have to see more of these days." Miroku said.

"It's true. But once you just can't help feeling of being fed up. After all in situations like these saying is easy, facing is hard" Kohaku replied.

"Remember the battle with Naraku was told to be impossible. It's true facing is hard, but you will get a lot of satisfaction once you succeed in it." Miroku said counting his sutras. "My lord they treated these sutras like some money meant to be thrown at dancers."

"Eh! What does that mean brother in law?" Kohaku asked.

"Huh! Oh that's nothing of your interest at the moment." Miroku replied rubbing the backside of his head.

'And if I dared to even tell you anything like that, then there is one woman who is going to make my life a living hell.' Miroku said to himself.

At that moment he badly wished InuYasha to be with him just so that he could shrug the itch to do such gossip. After all he was the only one with whom he felt comfortable to share his vast knowledge. Not to say he didn't want to share his wondrous knowledge about things like, well – let's say love with Kohaku. But if Sango were to find out that he had been enlightening her brother with his knowledge, then god knows what type of living hell she would show him.

The three packed up and were about to continue with their journey when they felt tremors. It was far away, but it got closer.

"Is that an earthquake?" Kohaku asked.

"Maybe, but I don't think so." Miroku replied as he turned to Kirara. She then transformed into a giant panther as Miroku and Kohaku immediately hopped on. As they flew over the forest in a far distance they saw a giant ape.

"What is that?"Kohaku asked.

"Whatever it is we cannot deal with it, at least not at the moment." Miroku said as Kirara tuned to another direction away from the giant monster. However, they were unaware that they'd miss their first sign to indicate their path to the half-demon they were after.

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><p><strong>So that's it for this chapter guys. I will try to upload chapter 6 next week. As a note just like previous chapters, I never thought this chapter would be this long. <strong>

**Note:  
>I read two writers rant about fanfiction writers asking for reviews and the things they wrote were not pretty. <strong>As I am going to say leaving reviews is not compulsory but is highly recommended since I do want to communicate with more people.<strong> To clarify I am still continuing this fiction regardless of reviews because I really want to print my imagination. This is the only form to print it since I cannot draw or paint cause if I could I would definitely want to give you a clear picture of my imagination. As long as people are enjoying it, I will continue writing them. For that reason alone I ask for reviews so I can edit a few things which may have been bad in past chapters and so I can avoid them in future ones. Also it's not for popularity or attention I seek but actually I want someone to talk to because I really feel alone in my life. Frankly saying all my friends graduated from high-school while I am stuck with giving back papers for two subjects. **That's why I have no one to talk to. **You will just say how bad that I didn't focus on my studies or not going out to communicate with others. But for once my friend step into my shoes and know what social pressures I have to live through because I am from completely different society. My mother will say that even writing this story is a waste of my time. But why am I still writing? It's so I don't ever regret making a wrong move to never print my imagination when they are still fresh. Therefore, communication and story correction are the two sole reasons I ask for reviews. Also when I began this fiction I mentioned my first sample fiction "Two half men" saying it didn't got enough reviews to warrant another chapter. Frankly saying I admit that is true but nobody told me whether they enjoyed it or not. But more than that I have no direction for that series as much I have for this one. It was only posted to get into Fanfiction world and learn the ins and outs of ' '. People will say I am not confident. That's right I still am not. But I am still improving because this is a new area I touched upon very recently.** I would also like to tell you that a lot of emotions from InuYasha's perspective I wrote are actually projection of my own emotion.**** So I give you my humble promise that no matter what I will try my best to finish this fiction.**  
><strong>

**Anyways,** sorry if this converted into a rant.** Thanks for reading and I will see you around.**


	6. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - My Lord

**Hey Guys! Like I promised I posted yet another chapter. Before I begin I would like to inform that this chapter has broken through my words limit yet again. I am concerned since I fear the chapters to be tasteless and boring later on and I don't want to bore or disappoint my viewers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi especially InuYasha.**

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><p>After running for a whole day, InuYasha and his companions finally found a safe haven in a cave. The demon was so surprisingly large that even with InuYasha's demonic speed it was hard to escape. But somehow they survived and reached the cave and would be safe. At least for now.<p>

"Is it gone?"Suzume asked.

"It still hasn't gone. It's still waiting for us outside." InuYasha replied. "We'll wait for a while but if that thing doesn't go then I have to take care of it."

"Are you crazy?" Nobuhiro asked.

"Keh! I have done things crazier than this. Ever tried jumping into the portal to the underworld?" InuYasha replied.

The two looked with wide eyed at each other. How come this half-demon ever fall into the underworld? At that moment it became clear that they had much more to learn about this half-demon if they ever needed to travel together without cutting each other's throat.

As hours passed by it was evident that the colossal primate would not move. It was stuck to them like glue. InuYasha, growing impatient stood up.

"I'm going outside. I will try to lure it away. If I don't make it before the next SUNRISE then don't wait for me." he said as he moved outside.

He now had to kill the monkey.

"InuYasha" Suzume called and InuYasha turned back to look to her. "Take care."

"And don't kill yourself." Nobu said.

InuYasha was surprised. For the first time two humans he really didn't know, two humans who were really nothing more than strangers to him were actually telling him to be safe. Why were they were concerned about him. He was nothing more than a half-demon and an abomination in the eyes of the boy that stood in front of him. What was going on?

With these thoughts in his mind, InuYasha went outside. The area looked clear but something was wrong. The monsters scent was still lingering around. But it was nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly InuYasha jumped away from where he was standing as moments later a rock crashed at the place he was standing. The monster then suddenly appeared at InuYasha's right as it leaned down and picked up another rock. It then flung it again at the half-demon but InuYasha was too quick to get hit by it.

"So you haven't gone have you?" InuYasha asked the monkey as he zoomed towards it.

"So you speak our language too creature?" the ape asked in a loud voice.

"What!" InuYasha was surprised.

InuYasha was dumbfounded. What did this demon mean? Didn't all demons and humans speak same language? Then why was this creature acting like as if it was ignorant about that fact?

"Why are you after us?" he asked in a loud voice.

"I came for the girl you were carrying creature." The monkey replied.

"What? So you too are after her?" InuYasha asked as his anger began to boil.

"Yes, and you won't have her creature." The monster replied.

"Like in hell I would allow you to."InuYasha yelled.

As he unsheathed his sword another rock was thrown at him. InuYasha dodged it but while still in midair, another rock flew towards him. InuYasha immediately cut the rock in half splitting it into two pieces. InuYasha landed with grace and dashed forward again. The monkey then raised its fist and within moments it banged its fist on the ground.

InuYasha jumped high above as the monkey's fist came crashing down on the land. He then landed on one of its hands. Then he ran up its arms and jumped on second arm as it tried to grab the half-demon. Reaching the upper arm then within moments InuYasha lunged forward towards the monkeys face. As InuYasha was about swing his sword the monkey's hand came flying again.

Instantly noticing the hand InuYasha impaled the sword and moments later the fang slit across the primate's hand. The monkey immediately jerked its hands up in pain as InuYasha who was still ahold of his sword was thrown up in the air along with the fang. The monkey held its hands together in pain and gave a loud scream.

"Not so tough now huh." InuYasha yelled with a smirk.

Then immediately getting a hold of himself in mid air, InuYasha raised his sword and dashed down.

"Have a taste of this half-demon's strength." InuYasha yelled. "WIND SCAR!"

While still in midair he gave the primate a hard blow at the nape of its neck as five bright lights ripped through the skin of the ape. The Monkey certainly weakened, started to dance around in pain. InuYasha was dropping down to the ground when the monkey's stray fist immediately hit him. InuYasha was slammed down on the ground violently moments later.

InuYasha tried to get up but he couldn't feel his body. His back was injured and the pain inflicted was really bad. This certainly was unpleasantly painful. It would really take time to heal that back. But he really needed to get out. But then things certainly began to worsen as the colossal primate finally gave up the urge to survive as its massive body began to tumble down over InuYasha.

InuYasha expecting to bear the weight of the monster closed his eyes shut. Could this be his end? Was he finally going to die? Was this his fate? He would realize later how wrong one person can be.

A few moments a later the huge tumbling body of the ape was covered with green electric shockwaves and the next moment the whole monkey exploded to bits and pieces.

InuYasha finally regaining control over his body, stood up wonkily as he looked around. The place was covered with nothing but blood. Not even a piece of flesh remained, he realized who it was.

"That bastard…." He said in a low voice. Then he began moving away from the scene with great difficulty as the pain had not subsided yet. That monkey, was also after Suzume. Why?

* * *

><p>Far away, on a nearest hill a white figure stood with his sword drawn out. There was a green imp accompanying him.<p>

"Keh, pathetic." He said as he sheathed his sword. "Jawken we need to get moving."

"Yes, my lord" the imp replied.

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><p>Back at the village Sango was looking at the sky sitting on a herb field. It has been weeks since the three boys left the village. Ever since they left the left the village she had been following Kaede to various places and wondering if everybody the boys and Kagome would ever return. Since she had nothing to do in the village, she started to train under Kaede regarding herbs and sickness. No, she wasn't training to become a priestess. That's not who she was. She was a slayer. That's what Kagome taught her. Don't try to be the person you are not. But the knowledge she would gain can certainly be useful in certain situations like healing someone when Kaede wouldn't be around or even healing herself. Knowing what herb saves a human's life is equally important to know what poison ends a demons life. Also she could help Kagome in that department, if she ever returned.<p>

Sango coming back to reality noticed a small girl plucking fresh herbs from a nearby patch and was humming a gleeful tone. At that moment Sango just wished her life would just be as carefree as the girls. No things to worry about. Just be happy and laugh a lot. A Plain and simple life, at least she wouldn't be sitting here worrying about the boys.

The next moment the girl stood up and approached Sango.

"Will this do lady Sango?" the girl showed Sango some fresh herbs she had picked.

Sango took a good look at the herbs and gave a nod.

"You picked them well Rin. I'm sure lady Kaede would be impressed." Sango replied.

"You think so?" the girl named Rin beamed at the thought.

"But let me just have a look at them." A voice from behind her came.

Lady Kaede approached Rin and took a good hard look at the herbs. She then gave the girl a bright and wide smile.

"They're perfect." She replied. "You can put them on the basket over there."

The girl jumped in happiness and ran towards the basket.

"Well, that rounds up for today." Kaede said. But then she noticed a lost woman sitting in front of her.

"Lost in thoughts?" She asked.

"Huh, yeah" Sango replied. "Just looking at Rin and thinking that once Sessomaru comes to pick her up the hut will become silent all over again."

"She is a pretty much gleeful one. But also the one who obeys. It's her choice that she has to make, whether she stays or not." Kaede replied.

The two stared at the girl in silence as she was packing up the remaining plants that were plucked off.

"But I did wish she would stay back. She and Shippo are the only ones who distract me from the boys." Sango said breaking the silence.

"It has been weeks since they left haven't they?" Kaede asked.

"It has been, but now I really regret making that decision. But at the time I never thought it would make me feel this bad." Sango replied.

"You did what you thought was best child. There is no regret in making a decision." Kaede said.

"There is not, but this stupid heart just doesn't understand that. I just hope Rin or Shippo won't make any wrong decisions." Sango replied.

"Shippo has made the right choice. As for Rin, she is yet left to make this decision." Kaede said. "Although I really wished that she would stay back here in the village. She just has a lot to learn with humans themselves before travelling with her lord."

"Is that what you think so priestess?" A voice spoke up.

The two turned around to look at the demon who held a cold and expressionless face, sitting on the fence.

"So you have come to take her Sesshomaru." Kaede replied.

Sessomaru was looking at the girl, the first ever girl who gave him a smile. Every creature that ever came across his path either wanted to challenge his pride or just shivered in fear. But this girl was the first girl he ever cared for, the first girl who respected his pride, the girl who awakened the long hidden side of his, the girl who awakened his side of kindness.

"Yes I have come, but not to take her." he replied.

The two women looked at each other in shock. Was this really Sesshomaru? They knew he would never leave Rin. If he didn't came for her, then what did he came for then?

"You two are thinking for what reason I came here if I didn't come to get her." Sesshomaru spoke up.

"Then for what reason did you come here?" Kaede asked.

"You are right priestess. She has a lot to learn with humans first." He replied.

"And may I know what does that mean?" Kaede asked.

"It means I am leaving her under your care." He replied.

"Are you sure? If she stays here she may not want to leave the human community ever again." Kaede said.

"If it comes down to that, then let it be, her life should be her choice." He replied.

Sango was confused for a moment. Why would Sesshomaru do that? Why would he leave her with humans? This act wasn't very Sesshomaru like. The cold demon who took no for an answer, was now giving a girl no, not any girl, a human girl the freedom of choice. He always despised humans, but now he is leaving one human he ever cared deeply, the first human he never held any hatred against, with other humans who god knows what might do to her.

"I see that InuYasha isn't here." He spoke up.

"He went on another journey." Sango replied.

"He is none of my concern. The last time I saw him he was about to be crushed by a monkey and this demon had to come and save his pathetic hide." He said coldly.

"What?" Sango panicked.

He saw InuYasha? He saved his brother? But he didn't bring him back?

"Why didn't you bring him back?" Sango asked.

"And why should I?" the demon asked back.

That's right. Why should he? InuYasha was nothing to him. Not even a brother. In fact he held a long grudge against InuYasha especially for being the entrusted the Tessaiga, the sword that protected, while he was left with Tenseiga, the sword that healed. However as their journey neared its end the demon lord finally gave up his interest in his father's fang believing that he was really not the rightful heir especially after receiving his own fang, the Bakusaiga, the sword of destructive justice, along with his regained left arm. After destroying Naraku together, the two brothers, wait, the two half-brothers never looked at each other again. They didn't hold any grudge, but they didn't accept each other as well. But if he didn't care, then why would he save InuYasha? It seems there is a side in him that cares for his half-brother. Kindness comes in very strange ways.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" Rin said in a loud and excited voice as she saw the demon. She then ran towards him and bowed down to greet him with respect.

"Are you doing well Rin?" He asked.

"I am doing great my lord. Lady Kaede and lady Sango have been taking great care of me." She replied. Then she looked around and noticed someone was missing.

"May I know where master Jawken is, my lord?" she asked.

"He is waiting at the priestesses hut." He replied.

Rin looked at the hut that was in a distance and found an imp moving up and down impatiently.

"Listen Rin, I need you to stay here." The demon lord replied.

"Why may that be my lord? Do you not want me to travel with you?" Rin asked.

"You are not ready yet. There are a lot of things you need to learn before you come with me. With you being a human, have to learn to live like a human first." He replied.

"As your wish my lord, I shall stay here." Rin replied with a drop in her tone.

* * *

><p>Back at the hut Jawken was waiting impatiently for his master. The servant was found by the demon lord as the only survivor when his tribe was attacked by well, some other demon. Since then he had been he became the demon lords servant. However since the arrival of the human girl, he was always kept back to look after the human girl thus making him impatient. He always received a vegetable in his head for making the girl angry. After all, his lord always preferred the girl over him.<p>

Suddenly, he saw his lord approaching but someone was missing. The girl he was jealous with was not with him. That was definitely unlike his master. That girl was someone very precious to his lord, even if the imp didn't know why. He thought they came back to get her. What happened that changed his lord's decision? Why was he leaving her? Was he finally done with her? Now he was starting to get worried. If the girl wasn't with him, with whom can he be jealous at? Not that he cared since his master would now focus more on him rather than that human girl. Why did he feel this way? However he himself didn't know that he had become fond of the girl and wanted her to travel with his master.

"We need to get going. We shall come back later." Sesshomaru said.

"But my lord…" Jawken tried to ask but was cut off.

"Silence, Rin will stay here for she has a lot to learn." Sesshomaru replied.

The imp then jumped on the large fluffy fabric that hung down his back as the demon lord sailed away in the sky.

Yes, Sessomaru wanted the girl to learn. But that was half-truth. He wanted the girl to stay safe. He had held her lifeless when it was revealed a person could not be revived twice by the fangs of Tensiega after he came out of the underworld. He almost lost her. He didn't want to see that again. He would rather let her choose a normal humans life than follow a demon and lose it.

The demon had a rough past as well. From pressurized into being strong in childhood to having pressure of being the heir to his father's clan all the way to losing him by the hand of a human. But he didn't care about his father's death. He was too lost in the lust for power that he lost his heart. He had a kind heart but it was locked away. Thanks to his mother's cold behavior. But for the first time that side of his heart unlocked when he saved Rin's life when she was killed by the wolf demons. The reason alone he cared for her.

* * *

><p>Back with InuYasha, he finally reached the cave with much difficulty and a great deal of pain. The night had broken out by the time he reached the cave.<p>

"You survived. What happened?" Suzume asked in a worried tone. Why was she worried about him?

"Let's say someone who had a lot of grudge against me, saved my butt." InuYasha replied.

"Hey, InuYasha." Nobuhiro called.

"Calling me by the name? Look I got no energy left to hear your nonsense anymore so shut it up." InuYasha replied.

"Thank You." Nobu said.

InuYasha was surprised. This boy was now thanking him. After getting him into a whole lot of mess he was now thanking him for saving his life. But he then realized that's all he was getting out of him at least for now.

InuYasha then settled down as he looked outside and saw the moon in its crescent form almost disappearing into darkness indicating that the time was arriving. That time which he hated the most, the time which would be the period of his weakness, the time when he would become a full human.

* * *

><p>The same moon was being watched by Kagome from her world. She was looking at the slowly disappearing moon as she began to worry about InuYasha's condition. His time of weakness was coming and she wasn't with him. She was definitely sure that InuYasha was in trouble. But whatever trouble he is in now, she could only sit and hope that nothing bad would happen to him.<p>

"Please InuYasha, don't do anything crazy." She said to quietly.

She then went to bed to prepare her for another day at modern day Tokyo.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, what is this? A giant hairy primate, wind scar on the back side of the neck, a monkey ignorant about language stuffs. Yep, InuYasha is attacking a titan (you will get it if you know what I mean). And yes. Sesshomaru makes his appearance in this story. However I have not given him a vital role in this story. At least not for now.<strong>

**Well, that's it for this chapter guys. I will try to post chapter 7(WOW! I never thought I would make this far) next week. Please do feel free to leave a review since it would be lovely to communicate with you guys. Plus I have highlighted the word SUNRISE. Why did I do that? Please do kindly remind me why. ;)**

**Anyways thank you for reading and do feel free to PM me if you have any questions or leave them in the review. I will try to answer them and I will see you guys around. **(I got caught at my internship office when I was writing this.)**  
><strong>


	7. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Little Brother

**Hey Guys! Here's another chapter like I promised. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan especially InuYasha.**

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><p>"My lord, we have found the girl." A soldier said kneeling down in respect.<p>

"Good, then go get her." A voice spoke in front of him.

"However we have a problem on our hand sire." The soldier replied. "The girl has two companions and one of them is a half-demon."

"I see. Send the troops and keep an eye on them. Ready the armory. Don't attack unless you see advantage. Try to take the girl in silence. Use force only if necessary. I don't want to lose men." He ordered.

"As your command, sire." He said and went away.

"So I have finally found you." He said in silence.

* * *

><p>BEEP!<p>

BEEP!

BEEP!

The alarm kept beeping as dawn broke out over the big city of Tokyo. Kagome not wanting to get up tried to bang the clock shut. She swung her hand up and down not even pulling her head up from her pillow. After several unsuccessful swings later she crawled a little closer in half-conciousness and she swung her fist in the air which caused her to lose balance fall off from her bed. She was now wide awake as she shut the digital clock which was graduation gift Kagome's mom had given her.

Ow, this was one of the most unpleasantly morning she had in her life, the morning which began with pain. The day had only begun and she was falling off from her bed. For what unknown reason did god had to wake her up this way?

Rubbing the arm which had felt the impact, Kagome looked up at the alarm clock which indicated the cursed being known as time. The clock indicated 5:00 AM. What? It's 5 in the morning? That's way too early. What was she going to do this early in the morning? She had no work. Her homework's were pretty much done last night. She had no tests until next week. What was she going to do this early in the morning? It was freaking 5 in the morning. Why would she set the alarm at such an early time? Wait, she wouldn't. There is only one person in the world that would pull off stunts like this. There is only one person who would bug her with pranks as simple and silly as this.

"I'm going to kill you Sota." Kagome said with a long sigh.

Yep, it was her little brother who did this. Only he could pull off stunts like this. After all only a little brother can have a gut so strong that would give him the ability to bug her sister till this extent.

He was going to get paid later. But what was she going to do now? Taking a long breath she moved towards the window and slid it open. Then she pulled her chair closer to her from the desk that was nearby. Resting her elbows on the sill of the window she looked out towards the sky as birds started flapping their way through the sky to find their early morning worm. She then looked down to her shrine as she saw squirrels coming out from their slumber. But more than any other object, the one that caught her attention was the ancient well house. This was the gateway to another world. It was the gateway to the world where she, her companions and her lover fought thousands of demons and emerged victorious in their battle with the Shikon jewel and its servant Naraku. This was the gateway that was locked away forever. Now she couldn't go back. Her role in that world was over. She could not meet her friends from that era again. She didn't even have a chance to say good bye to them. But more than anything, she could not be with InuYasha again.

Kagome then got up and slowly went downstairs. It was still morning and others were still asleep. A part of her just wanted to slip into Sota's room and throw him out of bed for making her wake up so early in the morning. She just so badly wanted to take revenge on him. But then again, she didn't want to wake anybody up. Sota really needed to have some more sleep. She wasn't going to wake him up just because he woke her up. Besides he was still a kid.

Kagome approached the door and slid it open. She then went outside as the sun was still below the horizon and the land was covered in faint light.

Taking in the fresh air Kagome started to move around in circles, not really having anything interesting to do. She just wandered around the grounds, gave prayers at the shrine and swept the shrine entrance with a broom.

But then again it was still early. What was she going to do now? At that moment Kagome's attention shifted somewhere. Her eyes landed on a tree. Not any tree, but the tree that linked two worlds.

This was the sacred tree from where Kagome freed InuYasha on the other side. Kagome froze there immediately as sunlight slowly shone over the leaves giving off a stunning view.

"Sis" a voice spoke up.

Kagome turned around to look at the boy who had been the cause of her unnatural wake up that morning.

"Sota, good morning. You're early today." Kagome said to Sota.

It was her brother who was now in fourth grade. Sota had moved to a new school since the previous school was shut down for a reconstruction after a massive earthquake damaged the property. Of course Kagome wasn't there during that time.

"You came here. You still miss him, don't you?" he asked.

Kagome gave no reply she just stood there and stared the tree.

"You know I miss him too. With him around I felt like I had a brother with me." Sota spoke up

"Yeah, all that happened, and it just felt like yesterday." Kagome said.

At that moment Kagome remembered the days when InuYasha used to bug her if he ever heard the name of the word home. Then the result would be a thousand sits or Kagome's fearful wrath that was her angry expression. If she did make it back, then he would just come and bug her constantly. Speaking of bug she was reminded of something.

Kagome moved towards her little brother. Then she swiftly grabbed him and started to scratch his head with her fist.

"You woke me up, didn't you?" Kagome said.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He apologized while struggling in her sisters grasp.

Kagome put him down.

"So why are you so early?" she asked.

"I really couldn't sleep last night. I decided to come out since I heard someone sweeping the floor and thought that gramps might have woken up." He replied.

Well, that was surprising. Kagome thought that Sota was having fun by waking her up early in the morning. But he was unable to sleep the whole night? Was something really bothering him?

Kagome kneeled down and looked into his face. She was right. Something was bothering him? She could easily see that he was hiding something.

"What's wrong Sota?" Kagome asked.

"Oh nothing's wrong." He replied.

He lied. He had a lot of things he was hiding that really bothered him. He really wanted to tell someone. But how could he tell them? What if they scold him if they ever found out?

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked.

"Really, sis there's nothing." Sota replied.

"Don't kid yourself." Kagome said.

Sota couldn't make any more excuses. He was caught. What was he going to do now?

"Trust me Sota. Tell me, what's wrong?" Kagome said again.

"Everything's wrong. I am always bullied by that cool kid in class, nobody wants to be friends with me in this school, I am always thrown out of class for no reason." Sota replied in a really low voice. "And..and…"

"You got low scores on your test." Kagome spoke up.

"I don't know why. I was sure I would pass but somehow I failed. I really don't know how." Sota said.

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Kagome asked.

"I was scared. They told me that if I failed then I would become a burden for the family and everyone would hate me badly for failing the test." He replied. "As for the bully stuff, I didn't tell you because I would look like a chicken in their eyes and I always get thrown out of class for even making a small sound. Yet kids behind me throw paper balls. Yet they get away and I am always at fault."

"Sota, look we would not scold you for such issues. Don't hide your problems. It will really result into nothing. I too have failed my exams. But have you ever seen mom become angry against me?" Kagome replied.

"That's cause …. Well…. You were always being pulled in by InuYasha. So I believe that's why mom considered you." Sota said.

"No Sota, look mom would never be angry for telling the truth. But if you just hide the truth too much for too long then mom will surely yell at you. Just hiding the truth will not help. You have to tell us your problems or we might never be able to help you. And hate you? Why would we ever hate you? You are my brother, I would never hate you. No, matter how many times I say 'I hate you'." Kagome said.

That was all he needed to hear. Sota immediately hugged Kagome, his sister. How could he be such a fool? A sister would never hate her brother. No matter how much he may bully her, no matter how much she would yell at him, they would never fall apart. He would still be Kagome's brother and she would always be Sota's sister. He never had a brother, but who cares, if a sister really understands you, then who needs a brother.

Kagome on the other hand was ready to help her brother. She was ready to help anyone. Of course if they were really in trouble.

She knew Sota was a hardworking boy, yet he failed. He was thrown out of class for small stupid reason, but the bullies got away. What type of wild school has he found himself stuck upon? They would have to talk with their mom about this and really evaluate the situation. But that is for later.

"Thanks sis, I am very lucky to have you as my sister." Sota replied.

"Sota, I am you big sister. Do you think I would allow some idiot to bully my little brother? There's a reason why we are a family." Kagome said. "However, I will not always be able to help you. At those times it's up to you to face the situation and you must be able to stand on your own."

They pulled back and Sota gave a confident nod and Kagome gave a big smile and ruffled his hair, happy with her brother's determination.

"You're lucky you have holiday today. So take a day off, and help grandpa around the shrine." Kagome suggested. "Or you could hang around with your friends from old school."

"Ok sis and you have fun at your school." Sota said.

Kagome gave a nod. There was no way school was fun. She felt like a bird in a CAGE. There was nothing interesting to do in the school. Subjects were well, subjects. All words and boring, wait…

"GASP, I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL." Kagome yelled with realization.

She immediately shot inside the house, ran upstairs and immediately changed her clothes. She then came down and went to the dining room where her mother was already cooking breakfast.

"Good morning Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi greeted her daughter.

"Good morning mom." She greeted.

"You were up pretty early, surprised to see you late still." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Yeah, Sota set the alarm way too early. But he looks to have problems of his own. Please don't ask him anything right now though. We will discuss it together later since he is not very comfortable talking about that right now."

"As you say Kagome" Mrs. Higurashi replied.

A few moments later Kagome's grandpa and Sota joined her on the table. Kagome immediately grabbed the chopsticks and started to devour the rice and fishes that lay in front of her. Sota gave a soft smile to himself looking at her sister eat voraciously. This was a lot like her sister. But somehow a part of that sister was also changed. She rarely argued with anyone and she was more lost in thoughts a lot of the times. She really did miss InuYasha.

Clearing her bowls Kagome joined her hands with a loud clap and thanked the gods.

"Thanks for the meal mom, I'm off now. Bye." Kagome said as she stood up, grabbed her bag and phone, wore her shoes and dashed outside.

She then ran down the shrine stairways and through the streets until she reached the train station. Grabbing her ticket she moved through the crowd. As she waited for her train to arrive, she realized. She was standing on the exact same spot where she had sat InuYasha when he was trying to pull her away from her final middle-school graduation exams that was held a couple of months ago. At that time she was really sensitive about not giving up her school work. She was so densely focused on her exams that she never realized that those would be one of the last days she would ever get to be with InuYasha. After all she had to pass her exams or else what would she do with her life and career if she failed?

As she entered the train, she was now left there standing among the crowd just wondering. What would she do with her life without InuYasha?

* * *

><p>Over the other side of the well, InuYasha looked towards the horizon as dawn was nearing its end handing the shift of its job to the morning. His back was now in a much better shape than before. However he was still tired of all the fighting the day before and he couldn't sleep all night fearing the nightmare. Plus his wounds were still unhealed. At that moment InuYasha only wished for Kagome's touch, the touch that was used to heal him. If Kagome saw any wounds on InuYasha then she would just rush out with her bandages and start treating his wounds.<p>

"Hey!" A voice behind him spoke up which belonged to Nobu.

"What do you want?" InuYasha asked.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Why do you ask? The only thing you want to do is get away from me" InuYasha said.

"You saved me yesterday. I still have a favor to return." He replied.

"What is up with you? You first call me a vile abomination, then you get me all broken up, then you say thank you for saving your butt and now you warm up to me." InuYasha asked in a frustrated manner.

"I'm sorry. I have a lot of trust issues and I panic too much too quickly." Nobu replied.

"So why do you want to warm up to me now?" InuYasha asked.

"Most of the nights I noticed you are lost and sad. So at that moment just like mine, you too may have a past as sad as mine." Nobu replied.

"You know nothing about my past" InuYasha said.

"That's right. I know nothing. I just saw sadness in your eyes. Why were you sad? I don't know. That's why I want to know." Nobu said.

"Let's say all my life all I did was only ran." InuYasha replied. "And what is your sad past?"

"Let's say I made a huge mistake in my life. I had to see all my loved ones die. That's why I am on this journey, to undo that mistake." Nobu replied.

"And I see you have a travelling partner." InuYasha said with a hidden grin hoping to make the idiot uncomfortable.

"Yeah, the moment I saw her, I saw the opportunity to undo my mistake. I knew I could make everything normal." Nobu replied.

They stood in silence until InuYasha spoke up.

"So you in love with her?" he asked.

"What? What are you talking about?" Nobu asked back confused.

"Aren't you and Suzume well…. together?" InuYasha asked surprised by the reply.

"Huh, who gave you such a thought?" Nobu asked.

"Well, you two were hugging yesterday." InuYasha said.

"Sh-Sh-She wa-wa-was just scared. I'm not in love with her. She is just my travel partner. She is only here to undo my mistake." He replied.

He was such a bad liar. He was certainly feeling uncomfortable with a lot of blush on his face. InuYasha could easily see that. He really was in love with her. How did he know? Because that's how he reacted before he fell in love with Kagome. But what was this undoing his mistake nonsense mean?

At that moment InuYasha noticed Suzume looking at them. She was holding a very sad look on her face. He realized this was not the right time to ask any more qustions. Was she sad at Nobu denying his love for her? If that was so then she really loves him till death. Nobu is only holding back, but why? Was it pride, or something else?

"We'd better get going." InuYasha said.

Nobu nodded and went inside while Suzume just moved away hanging her head down. These two were in love and they are not accepting it. He now had to join these two love birds. Why? That's because he had lost his love forever. He was not going to see other's lose theirs. That's why he left Miroku and Sango alone.

"Now I must do your job Kagome." InuYasha said as he looked at the rising sun.

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><p><strong>So this chapter focuses more on Kagome since she really hadn't had a chapter that depicted her life without InuYasha. After all it is not always InuYasha missing Kagome, is it?<strong>

**Well, that's it for this chapter guys. I hope you like it.** **Please do feel free to leave a review since it would be lovely to communicate with you guys. This week I have highlighted the word CAGE. Can you guess why?**

**Also I have already completed next chapter and boy it has one of my favorite portion of the story so far. But I really don't know when to upload it. I really am considering uploading later this week but some how I am also considering holding up for next week. What do you guys think? Should I upload it later this week or next week?**

**Anyways thank you for reading and do feel free to PM me if you have any questions or leave them in the review. I will try to answer them and I will see you guys around.**


	8. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - School Life

**Hey guys! Like I promised, I have uploaded **another chapter. This time I updated early because I had this chapter prepared since last week. Plus tomorrow is spring festival in my area and I really wanted to post something special. But since I was busy I decided to post this chapter early. This portion was supposed to be in last chapter. But I decided to split it since a lot of stuffs got added in. Anyways on with the story.  
><strong>**

****Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi or Shogakukan, especially InuYasha.****

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><p>Kagome stepped out from the train. Her friends were probably at school already. She dashed through the crowd and ran through the streets as she made it just in time for class. She went to her section and sat down on her desk.<p>

At that high school she was pretty lonely. Her three friends Eri, Ayumi and Yuka were on a different section. She didn't know about other schools but the one she was studying at used to assign students to different sections based on their marks they obtained from their final exams. But Kagome was a waitlisted student who was accepted because a few students who were fully chosen went to other school. Her friends were chosen without a hitch. They had done a far better job in their exams. They were certain they would be picked. Unlike Kagome who had so much burden on her back. Demons, exams and studies these were the problems she used to face. She had missed a lot of classes and she was very uncertain whether she would even pass her exams. But here she was sitting on a desk of a high-school. She should be happy, but why wasn't she?

At that moment her phone vibrated and she pulled it out. It was a message from Yuka.

"**Hey Kagome,  
>meet us at our usual place.<br>We really wanna talk to you."**

That was what was written on her screen. Kagome was at least lucky her friends stood up for her after all that happened. The day well closed down for good, she only told them how he had met InuYasha and the cause of her disappearance from school and her grandpa's constant old man's disease excuse like having diabetes. Yep, that was her grandpa.

Kagome then put her phone inside. The arrival of teacher who was supposed to be here was significantly late. That's very odd, a teacher becoming late?

At that moment the door slid open.

"Please rise" a voice spoke up and everybody in the class stood up to greet the teacher.

A male with white hair came in.

"I apologize for my late arrival. A cat crossed the road when I was walking through the shortest route to this school. So I had to take a detour to reach here." He said.

Everyone in the class lost their minds. What a teacher this was?

"Now shall we begin the class?" he asked and then turned to the black board.

Then the class began. Kagome looked outside the window imagining InuYasha scratching his head with his foot.

There were some teachers who were loved by students and others who were hated the most. The most hated one was the Physics teacher who was also their class teacher. Most of the students nicknamed him 'Admiral Douchebag'. That's because of his lecture ways were more similar to the ones done by dictators. It felt like, let's say, a speech done by Hitler. Outside of that he also gave students no time to breath. They had to maintain pin drop silence. Or else he would go berserk on the students. Surprising to Kagome the friendliest teacher was the Math's teacher. The subject she hated the most. That teacher used to make the subject much more fun to read and easier to learn.

And that's how her day went by. That day was only filled with subject classes and no extracurricular periods. It was pretty much boring.

The day finally ended and Kagome packed up getting ready to go home. She left the school compound and just nearing the gate she remembered something as she took out her phone.

"**Cool, I'll be waiting."**

Kagome then sent the message and she put her phone inside her pocket again. She then headed to their usual fast food, the WacDonald's. She reached there and settled down on a nearby place.

**While she was waiting she noticed something strange. There was guy sitting on the table across. He had a red hair, but there was something supernatural about him since his eyes were also blood ruby red. Was he some kind of a demon or a ghost? Nah... She probably might have been dreaming.**

A few moments later Kagome's old friends showed themselves up. She had been pretty much disconnected with them ever since the day she was rescued from the darkness. She never called them back or met them at the school. They were busy with their own class and Kagome was busy with her loneliness.

"Hey, Kagome" Eri called her waving her hand.

"Hey, guys" Kagome called back.

Eri and Ayumi took their seats beside Kagome while Yuka went to the counter to take the orders. A few moments later she appeared with everyone's combos in her hand.

"So how are your classes going Kagome?" Ayumi asked as everyone started to eat their food.

"Pretty boring" She replied biting her burger "It's pretty strange we were all excited when we graduated from middle school because we were all going to high-school. Now here we are all bored within first few months."

"It's not that bad Kagome. We are all having fun. You should have too." Yuka said.

"That's right. The teachers are pretty friendly. They really teach you well." Eri said.

"That's cause you don't have teachers like 'Admiral Douchebag' being your class teacher. You guys are lucky that you are on a higher section. At least there teachers teach you properly." Kagome responded.

"Well, you were pretty busy fighting demons in the feudal era with your boyfriend." Ayumi said.

At that moment Eri gave a slight nudge to Ayumi. Ayumi noticed the face of Kagome filled with sadness and guilt. She immediately shut up and started to sip on her drink.

"So Kagome why don't you tell us about other guys you met in the past." Eri suggested.

"Huh, who am I supposed to talk about? I have already told you the story haven't I?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, you have told us the story but it was very short and you haven't told us what adventures you went on. Plus you really haven't told us the details about demon biology." Eri spoke up.

"She's right, let me think, oh! What about that cold half-brother of your boyfriend? You only mentioned him last time." Yuka asked.

"Oh him, yeah he is really cold. He really tried to kill me the first time we met. If I hadn't held the sword InuYasha was carrying, I would have left to nothing but a big liquid mass." Kagome said.

"Ooooo, he looks scary. How did you survive him?" Yuka asked.

"Well, InuYasha saved me a lot of the times. Once he had even saved me from his brother by taking a punch which made a hole in his gut." She replied.

"How did he survive that?" Eri asked.

"Like I said he is a half-demon. He has a very strange body anatomy." Kagome replied. "But don't worry his half-brother later on changed strangely."

"What do you mean?" Yuka asked.

"Well, he found a girl. Then suddenly he just changed. It felt like he had this side of kindness locked within him. The demon, who hated humans, cared for a human. After that any living being that harmed that girl became his prey." Kagome narrated.

"Oh, that sounds cute." Eri said.

"A cold demon changed significantly." Yuka said.

Kagome narrated more as they finished their meal.

"And that was his story." Kagome finally said ending the story of Sesshomaru.

"Wow, Kagome I think we should meet once in a month. We really need to hear more stories. Especially about that Koga guy who said tried to take you away." Eri spoke up.

"Sigh! You really want me to do that?" Kagome asked obviously tired.

"Of course, they seem to be such interesting people." Yuka spoke up.

They paid their bill and went outside. They walked their way in silence when…

"I don't know Kagome but considering how I heard that half-brothers story, I think he is cute." Ayumi said.

"Eh! Cute, are you sure?" Kagome asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, plus I think you suite with him perfectly than your red-robed boyfriend. You should have tried him." Ayumi replied.

"WHAT?" Kagome responded in a loud voice. Her mouth hung open and the muscles around her eyes began to twitch.

These friends of hers had really wild ideas. She was a perfect match for Sesshomaru? The cold, ruthless demon lord was a perfect match for Kagome? The free willed Kagome matched up with a murderous demon? Who ever got that concept? At that moment Kagome's imagination grew wild and a lot of things started to brew up in her head. Her brain was only seconds away from malfunction.

**(Kagome's dream)**

_Sessomaru was sitting on a throne. He was holding Kagome, his beloved priestess with his arm. She was sitting on her beloved dog-demon's lap, locked in his embrace of his right hand._

"_Oh, my dear priestess let us travel far lands and eliminate every being that defies us." He said pointing his fingers towards the roof._

"_Oh, my lord, I am not a priestess. But I am your beloved. Please take me roughly and with great passion." She said._

"_I shall do it gladly my beloved." He replied._

_Their lips were inches away and they got closer and closer and closer. Then several stars flew through in the background finally signifying their union._

**(/Kagome's dream)**

"Kagome, Kagome." Yuka said clicking her fingers.

Kagome snapped back to reality as their friends just stood there and stared at her.

"Tell me you are not in love with him as well." Eri spoke up.

"WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY? HE TRIED TO KILL ME. HOW COULD YOU EVEN ASK ME THAT I LOVE A REALLY COLD BLOODED DEMON?" Kagome yelled flapping her arms up and down.

"Woah! Woah! Kagome we didn't really mean it, did we?" Yuka tried to reason.

"Sigh! I really need to go home. Sorry guys but I really don't think I will able to talk anymore. Bye." Kagome replied.

They nodded in agreement and waved her bye. After Kagome was gone out of site Eri and Yuka stared daggers at Ayumi who could really do nothing but massage the back of her head in embarrassment.

Kagome finally reached home. This was certainly the most boring and irritating day of her life. First the boring class day, second she had to narrate the story of Sesshomaru and then Ayumi pairing her up with that dog-demon. Geez who had been filling her head up with that nonsense? How was Sessomaru cute? After all the only thing he ever did was kill creatures whether they were humans or not. Was he really the type who could have a lover? Who knows? She didn't love him that was all that mattered. Her heart always be for InuYasha, no matter what.

She finally reached home and climbed up the stairs to her shrine. She slid the door open and entered her home.

"I'm home." she said.

"Oh, Kagome how was your day at the school." Mrs. Higurashi spoke up.

"It was very tiring, boring and embarrassing. All of them at once." She replied.

"Do you want me fix up a bath?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Sure mom, I really need one." Kagome replied.

She then looked around.

"Where's Sota?" She asked.

"Oh, he went out with Hitomi." Mrs. Higurashi replied.

Kagome gave a soft smile and went to her room. She then changed her clothes and then she came downstairs, went to kitchen and took something to eat.

"Kagome bath's ready." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Thanks mom." Kagome said and went to the bathroom.

After taking a bath she settled down on her bed and relaxed. After a long tiring day she really needed some time to relax. God, this was her life. She could not believe it. She thought feudal era was hard. But now this modern era was even more unforgiving. But this is the life she wanted and she should be happy. But could she?

Kagome stood up and went to the side-box of her bed where she rummaged through her stuffs. There she found the broken analog clock that she had during her middle school, the clock that was broken by InuYasha. She gave a soft smile and just kissed the broken clock who was the victim of the wrath of the half-demon. She then held it to her heart for a couple of moments until her mom called her.

Sota had arrived by the time it was dinner. Kagome sat down and ate her dinner. Sota on the other hand told his thrilling experiences of the day. All of them finished their dinner and then Kagome helped her mother cleaned the dishes and then retired for the day to her bed.

Later that night Mrs. Higurashi peeked into Kagome's room. She was fast asleep. Mrs. Higurashi gave a soft smile noticing that her little Kagome was growing old. However a part of her felt heartbroken because one day she would have to give this daughter away to a man. But this is a life of a woman. They choose a man who suits them and leave their home to live a new life in a new home.

Mrs. Higurashi wasn't sad at the thought of giving her daughter away to a man. She just wished that man to be no other than InuYasha himself. After all, the two had gone through so much together that they had trusted each other with their lives. She didn't even know if she could trust any other person to give her daughters hand. In a time like this what if she is misused or even abused? What if she is betrayed and ignored? These thoughts worried her but that still had time. For now all she had to worry about was looking after her daughter until she is able to look after herself.

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><p>Back in the feudal world InuYasha was sitting under a shade of a tree. His two companions were right nearby near the warmth of the fire. InuYasha on the other hand were looking at the two supposed lovebirds. He was sure that these two were in love. But then again he could be wrong. On top of that he didn't even know why they were travelling around the forest. How they met or what was their past aside from cryptic narration he got. On top of that a lot of demons were after Suzume.<p>

A few moments later the two stood up and went into the darkness. InuYasha noticed this and went after them. However, he kept his distance knowing that interfering would probably cause more problems.

The couple went through the woods a little farther away from their camp spot and stopped there. InuYasha settled on a branch of tree a little farther away.

"What is wrong Suzume? You seem a bit sad today." Nobuhiro asked.

"I heard what you said in the morning." Suzume replied.

"So that's what's been bothering you." He said.

"Is it true what you said today morning?" she asked.

"I..I.. really don't know what to say." He replied.

"Just tell me what you feel." She replied.

"But before that what do you feel about me?" He asked back.

"We know each other for very long. But as time passed, I felt something very strange. I felt as if we were getting close to each other. Whenever you would go off, I would get really scared. What if something happened to you?" She replied.

"You know I can't die that easily, right? I tried to kill myself for what I did but I just couldn't. But then you came and tried to stop me. As time passed, you taught me that there are ways I could live. That was the time when I slowly laid my eyes on you." He replied.

Suzume's eyes widened. Was that true what he just said?

"Yes it's true. I really feel that way. I really have fallen for you. I love you." He said.

Suzume couldn't hold herself longer. She just jumped forward and hugged him without thinking again.

"But the truth had to unfold. I really can't believe we are going to do this. A part of me just doesn't want to do it. That was the reason why I never said it to you." Nobu spoke up.

"But you know you can't live like this. This is our only chance to undo your mistake." She replied.

"I know, but I can't just shake off the thought to lose you. Everyone who ever cared for me, I had to see them die. I just can't face seeing you die." He said.

"Shh, don't say that. You shall make it through. It doesn't matter whether I live or die. I shall rather die than see you suffer. Even if I survive there is no place for me in this world." She spoke up.

"Don't say that damnit. We have been together for so long. Where you are I am there with you. Your place is with me. What would I do without you?" He asked.

"Live." She replied.

"I can't, I simply can't. There is no one left for me other than you." He said holding her closer.

InuYasha who was looking away from a tree from a distance gave a small smile to himself. It looks like he didn't really need to do any work on this couple because they are now together.

"Do you think we will be able to trust him?" Nobu asked.

"Trust me, we shall send him away once we reach the lake." Suzume replied.

"What if he finds out the truth?" Nobu asked again.

"Then let him." She replied.

"Fine, but if he even attempts to hurt you then I won't hold myself back from killing him." He replied.

"I don't think that would be necessary." She replied.

"Whatever." He said.

InuYasha was confused for a while what were these two hiding from him. They had their destination set on a lake. Why?

"You know he is looking at us." Suzume spoke up.

The branch snapped and InuYasha fell down with a loud thud towards the ground landing on his face. The two just gave soft smile to themselves.

"It looks like he heard most of the part." Nobu spoke up.

"Don't worry, he won't kill us. No matter how hard he will make it look like that." She replied.

InuYasha stood up and wiped the dirt from his face. For the first time he ate dirt without Kagome having to sit him. Then his attention was caught by the couple who were in front of him.

"Okay, now tell me what are you two are hiding from me." InuYasha said in a serious tone.

"And may we ask why you were listening to us." Suzume asked back in a cold tone.

InuYasha froze. He couldn't reply back. Her eyes, they held so much coldness in them. But then InuYasha noticed something strange in her eyes. Something supernatural was about this girl. No matter the demons were after her. He had to find out.

"Whatever we are hiding from you is none of your concern. But trust me we are not using you. We just need protection until we reach our spot." Nobu replied.

"Fine, don't tell me. But poke me too much and I will get violently curious. At that time you must tell me everything." InuYasha responded.

The two nodded in agreement and they went back to their camp and slept, except InuYasha. He just kept staring at space. With the new turn of events it seemed he now missed Kagome even more.

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><p><strong>Okay I know I have pissed off a lot of you for my SessxKag parody. I have no offense over your choice but seriously guys, whoever came up with that concept? That is a seriously dumb one IMO.<strong>

**Plus, I hope the part between my two OC's wasn't bad. Also I gave a few more hints for the story of this arc and the reason why the demons attacked Suzume. I hope it wasn't confusing.  
><strong>

**So that's it for this chapter guys. I hope you enjoyed it and please do feel free to leave a review or PM me if you have any questions or just want to hang around for a chat.**


	9. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Doubts

**Hey Guys! Here's chapter 9 like I promised. I do really hope you enjoy it.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer:I don't own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media.**

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><p>InuYasha jumped down from the tree where he sat his night through as light shone through the land beginning another new day. Two nights ago his two companions finally expressed their love for each other. He expected to have done a little working in order for them to admit it. But it happened a little too easily. This bought InuYasha a smile. He was happy that these two were not in the same complex situation that he was in. However, now a new dark void full of question got opened.<p>

Why were these two going to a certain destination which he assumed a lake? What happened to these two which caused them to cross paths with each other? What mistake did Nobu make which he is going to undo? Where does Suzume stand in all this? What is her role? Does this action that they are going to do will really kill her? What business have the demons got with Suzume? Is Suzume even a human?

But those questions did not disturb him. Not that he cared what they did. But was he really their pawn in this whole journey? Should he really trust these two people? Was he going to be used? If he is injured fighting, would they leave him for the dead? These were the questions that disturbed him.

It has been quite some time since he travelled with these two. But he really didn't know anything about these two's past except cryptic hints they often gave. With every step more questions began arising. Right now there were more questions than answers. But they weren't ready to tell him yet and he had been a fool to agree to their no talk deal.

For that moment he just wished he could trust these two. But he really couldn't yet. Too much suspicion was held on his heart. Until, he was clear of everything he couldn't hold his trust yet. Ever since that night the two have been talking to each other even more. As for InuYasha he stood away from them. He wanted to give them privacy and not interfere between their love talks. Besides, looking at them only made him even more envious for the fact that he had nobody left in this world for him. On top of that his suspicion bested his heart as they had been hiding a lot of things from him.

InuYasha then went into the jungle and hunted down a few birds and rabbits. He came back cleaned the meat and started a fire on which he roasted them. It had been pretty much a norm for him to go into the jungles to hunt for animals. Obviously since those two couldn't do anything. The aroma woke up the two sleepy heads.

"Well, you two have been sleeping pretty well?" InuYasha asked.

"Why do you ask, haevn't you slept yet?" Nobu asked.

"I am a half-demon. I can go on for days without sleeping." InuYasha claimed proudly.

But that wasn't the reason why he couldn't sleep. He wanted to sleep soundly. But he just couldn't. Even a half-demon as powerful as him has a weak side on his heart, a side that fears.

Nobu may believe that, but Suzume couldn't. She clearly saw fatigue in the half-demon's eyes. But fatigue wasn't the only one. She could see fear, pain and uncertainty all in one. He really didn't trust them and that she clearly understood that. She then realized. The cold eyes she gave two nights ago were enough for him to not trust them. That certainly wasn't good. If he isn't around then who would going to protect them from demons? If they had to keep him around then they had to hold his trust.

"So you guys hungry?" InuYasha asked the two giving the two each sticks which had meat stuck on them.

"Sure, I'm starving." Nobu approached forward and took one stick.

After a while Suzume went forward and claimed her half as well. The couple ate in silence when they noticed something. The half-demon in front of them was not eating anything. He just turned away showing them their backs and looking at the sky.

Suzume gave a nudge to Nobu and he turned his head around. She pointed to InuYasha with her eyes. Nobu understood what she was trying to say. He then turned towards the half-demon.

"You are not eating anything. Here have some before we eat it up." He spoke up.

InuYasha snapping from his trance turned around.

"Then take it. You need it more than I do. I don't want to eat." InuYasha replied.

"Look, even half-demons need a source of nourishment. After all you are a half-human as well." Suzume said.

"I said I don't want to eat." InuYasha repeated.

"Look you can't fight if you go on like this. You've got to put some food in that mouth of yours." Nobu said.

InuYasha's patience snapped. These two couldn't really leave him alone. If he didn't want to eat anything then couldn't they understand? Why did they have to bug him constantly? Couldn't they leave him alone? Frustrated he began to yell.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO EAT ANYTHING. CAN'T YOU HEAR THAT? JUST LEAVE ME…."

"STOP CRYING LIKE A CHILD AND JUST EAT." Suzume yelled cutting InuYasha out.

InuYasha on the other hand jumped back in fright. She just suddenly snapped back at him. Why are they caring to make him eat?

At that moment Nobu moved forward and gave him his second stick. InuYasha tried to turn away in refusal but Suzume ate her meat while still staring at him with cold daggers. InuYasha stared at her in horror. He really didn't want to argue. He knew that she would yell at him for doing something that would offend her. But giving this deadly glare was something brand new.

Without arguing he immediately took the stick and quickly ate up all the meat on the stick.

"Thank you, now if you'll excuse me I'll come back in a moment." InuYasha said and within moments he was out of earshot.

The two looked at the half-demon run off. They didn't know what on earth he was up to. What the hell happened to him?

InuYasha ran a little farther away from their spot panting heavily. He wasn't panting with exhaustion, he was panting with fear. He stood there for a while as he really needed to forget that woman's face. He sat there and closed his eyes deep in thought. That woman looked like a being that is meant to be feared. These two humans would now keep him hostage. He had to get over this soon. He had to…

"Hey" he heard a voice.

"Yaaaa!" InuYasha jumped in fright.

"Woah! Didn't mean to scare you." Nobu panicked.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay…" InuYasha asked.

"Please don't do anything. She's like that. I would like to apologize for her." He tried to reason.

"Stay with her. She might get kidnapped again." InuYasha suggested.

"OK, but don't take too long." Nobu said.

InuYasha just nodded. After Nobuhiro went back he just stared at the sky for a while. He looked at the round sun taking its place in the morning sky. For a while he calmed down, but then he realized something.

"Oh! Crap." He said to himself as he dashed back to the camp.

"Okay, pack up we need to get as far as we can today." He said to the two.

"Why? Something's wrong." Suzume questioned.

"Huh! Oh nothing's wrong. I just want to travel as far away as fast as possible." InuYasha replied.

They both agreed. But once more Suzume saw something in his eyes. It wasn't pain or anything. This time she saw fear and desperation. Something was wrong. He was hiding something very crucial.

The three packed up and went on with their journey. For the whole day InuYasha didn't talk with anybody. He just walked in silent. But he really seemed patient. It felt as if he just wanted to yell at them for being so slow. But somehow he restrained himself.

But as the day passed by, the half-demon became more and more impatient.

The dusk finally came and he was found to be at the peak of his impatience. It seemed like he just wanted to run away and hide in a pace. At that moment a group of humans were heard crying for help from a distance.

"What was that?" Nobu asked. "You, go and see what is going on."

"Dammit! What now?" InuYasha asked himself.

He jumped on top a top of a tree and surveyed the site. In a distance there was a group of demons attacking a group of humans. This certainly wasn't turning out to be good. The day was almost over and now a group of humans were being attacked.

"Why did it have to happen now?" InuYasha asked himself again.

He then jumped down the tree.

"What is happening?" Suzume asked.

"A group of humans are being attacked by demons." He replied. "Come on we got to go."

"What! We can't just leave them there." Suzume said in a loud voice.

"We gotta keep moving. After all we don't want dead people, do we?"InuYasha questioned.

Suzume understood what he was saying. The three then moved forward towards the battle ground. As they got closer the three hid behind a tree and surveyed the sight. There were a group of men fighting off the horde of demons.

"You stay behind here. I will go and finish them off." InuYasha said to the two.

The two nodded and they hid back.

"Here goes nothing." InuYasha said to himself.

He then went to battle ground. The two sides immediately noticed the half-demon and their battle came to an abrupt halt.

They were all staring at InuYasha. They stared at him as if he had something precious they had. InuYasha surveyed the sky. It was almost dark. He had to be fast and he had to end this quick.

"What are you all looking at?" InuYasha asked them.

"You are that half-demon that had the girl." One of the demons spoke.

InuYasha turned to the source of the voice. There stood the leader of the demon's group.

"Huh! You are that demon who was after Suzume." InuYasha spoke up.

"HELP US..!" The human yelled.

The demon nearby immediately slashed him dead. At that moment the humans stepped back. They knew this half-demon might help them survive. But that was a wrong decision to make. They were immediately surrounded by demons thus holding them captive.

"Shut up human." He said. "Well, isn't this a great turn of events. Since I promised that I won't allow you to have that girl, let's ask a question. Where is the girl?"

"She is not here." InuYasha replied.

"Well, aren't you great liar. I know she is here around somewhere." The demon said.

He then looked around the area.

"I know she is there." He said pointing to a tree in a distance.

The couple behind the tree gasped in surprise. He really knew where they were hiding. What was going to happen now?

InuYasha couldn't say anything. He just stood there gripping the hilt of his sword not able to make his move. A few moments later two demons went behind the tree and grabbed the couple who were about run away from their place.

"We need the girl. But the boy is of no use." The demon replied as he went closer. "However, keep him alive. We will make him suffer for hiding the girl away from us all this time."

"Leave them alone." InuYasha yelled back.

"Oh, you feel bad. Don't you want the girl? Or is it that she is your friend. How pathetic. A perfect thing like her being treated as a friend." The demon taunted the half-demon by running his claws down the girl's cheeks which caused InuYasha's anger to rise.

"Why don't you just shut up?" InuYasha replied.

"Why any problem you got... WHAT?" The demon tried to taunt more but was shocked to find the half-demon missing from the place where it was standing.

The demon then turned around to the couple who were held captive. But instead he found the half-demon standing in front of him shielding the girl behind. The couple's captors were found dead in two pieces. He just stood there looking at the half-demon's eyes which were fueled with anger.

"If you don't know how to shut then it looks like I will have to shut you up." InuYasha spoke up in a loud voice.

With his anger flaming high InuYasha immediately plunged his hand through the chest of the demon. The hand then ripped out from the back of the demon with the beating heart in InuYasha's hand. Showing no mercy he squished the heart. After that body then dropped on the floor lifeless.

"Why you…ATTACK" One of the demons commanded.

All the demons then lunged towards the half demon from the air. InuYasha drew out the Tessaiga.

"ADAMANT BARRAGE" InuYasha yelled.

In a matter of seconds a shower of diamond pieces shooted through the air impaling and piercing the enemies. Within moments there was nothing but pieces of flesh flying in the air landing on the ground below.

InuYasha looked into the sky. The sun was just inches away from sunset.

"We got to go." He said to the couple that was shielded behind him.

"HOLD IT" A voice spoke up.

InuYasha turned around and found the humans pointing their weapons at the trio.

"Give us the girl." The man in the front spoke up.

"So you are also after her." InuYasha said while gritting his teeth.

"Give us the girl and go free." He repeated.

"Shut up." InuYasha yelled.

Suddenly scales appeared in the Tessaiga and InuYasha swung it towards the humans. The humans expecting to get killed fell back. The force hit them but nothing happened. He faked an attack.

"AFTER THEM." The leader yelled.

InuYasha and the two couple ran through the woods after making an opportunity to escape.

Suzume and Nobu noticed something strange with the half-demon. He was not running as fast as he used to. He was slower. More like running with the pacing of the human. But it was now really dark to see anything.

They ran for a while until they were certain they were safe.

"Are both of you okay?" InuYasha spoke up from the darkness.

"We are fine, are you?" Nobu asked.

"Don't even ask." He replied as he came out of the shadows.

The couple stared at him with wide eyes. InuYasha stood there with his hair all black and his dog ears missing.

"What happened?" Nobu asked.

"You're asking me?" He asked back sarcastically. "The new moon happened, you got that?"

"So, right now it's time of your weakness." Suzume said as she looked into the black cloudy sky.

"How did you know?" InuYasha asked.

"I just know that every half-demon has a time of weakness." Suzume replied.

"Okay, why you did not tell us today was your time of weakness?" Nobu asked in a loud voice.

"What made you think I would tell you my time of weakness?" InuYasha asked back.

"So you don't trust us?" Suzume asked.

"I never trusted anybody in my life. That's the reason alone I am alive. There have been only five people in my life I have ever trusted with my soul." He replied in a low voice.

"And why don't you trust us?" Suzume said as she became surprised.

"Oh! God" InuYasha said as he slammed his face on his palm. "Well isn't it obvious. Why are you hiding things from me?"

The two stared at each other for a while. InuYasha gave a long sigh and stood up.

"Look we're sorry. We will explain…" Suzume tried to explain.

"Save it for later. For now we got to get moving or they might catch up with us." He replied.

As he took another step there was a loud crash and InuYasha's left foot suddenly got pulled up. The next moment he hit his head and after that he found himself hanging upside down as his vision became blurry and he fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the night InuYasha woke up. He had somehow found himself on the ground with a knotted rope tied to one of his leg. He looked closer and found that the rope was cut. He looked around and found several bodies of soldiers. But Nobu and Suzume were nowhere to be found. Did those two do this? What the hell happened here?<p>

InuYasha stood up rubbing the back of his head. Then he looked around at the massacre. He looked around even more. But there was no sign of the two.

"Looks like those two escaped huh!" InuYasha said to himself.

As he began to move away something caught his attention. A little farther away there was a body lying on the ground with almost a dozen swords impaled on its body. He began to move forward. He gasped at what he saw.

The body was of no other than Nobuhiro's. The swords were impaled so deep into the ground that it was near to impossible to pull them out. He was dead. There was no question about it. Nobody could ever take on that many swords, especially for humans like him.

They escaped. How wrong he could be? They probably killed Nobu and took Suzume as hostage. He was given one job. That was to protect these two. He failed. He failed because he couldn't tell them about the new moons night. He didn't tell them because he never trusted these two. Now because of his mistrust one of them was now lying dead. Kagome was right, he really had to work on his peoples skills.

"Sigh! Damn. What a waste." He said to himself as he put his hand over his forehead.

But then at that moment InuYasha was shocked with surprise.

Nobu's eyelids suddenly threw open revealing his white dilated eyes and the next moment his right hand rose in the air. Then his body rose slowly in the air as it ran through the sharp edges swords and through the hilt. The body then stood up on the two legs and the boy's eyelids were shut they opened as his eyes became normal again. Then he turned his head towards InuYasha.

InuYasha on the other hand couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at the now standing Nobu and the swords that were still impaled on the ground. He surveyed his body as he was shocked to discover that there were no holes at all. What was this boy? What on earth did just happen? What is going on?

"Wh… What are you?" InuYasha asked.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's it for this chapter guys. <strong>Please do feel free to leave a review since it would be lovely to communicate with you guys. Plus I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I boldfaced a couple of sentences in chapter 8. Can you guess why?<strong>****Anyways thank you for reading and do feel free to PM me if you have any questions or leave them in the review. I will try to answer them and I will see you guys around.**


	10. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Immortal

**Hey guys! Here is chapter 10. Woah! now I never thought I would make it this far. So thank you everyone who have supported me while writing this story. I hope you will enjoy it further down the road.**

**Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise and Viz Media especially InuYasha.**

* * *

><p>"Gasp" Kagome woke up.<p>

She was sleeping in front of her study desk. Somehow she fell asleep while finishing her school work. But somehow she just woke up.

She looked around but there was nothing. That was strange she just felt something was wrong but there was nothing here. Everything was fine. For once she really did feel

Thinking that she may have been tired she stood up and opened the window hoping to freshen up her mind. She closed her eyes and took in the cool fresh breeze.

She opened her eyes when she noticed that the sky was black. At that moment she realized that it was the night of the new moon. It was the night when InuYasha becomes human. It was the time he hated the most, the time of his weakness. Her fresh mood immediately turned to worry. InuYasha was often reckless even in his human nights. He almost got himself killed in several of these occasions.

But then again he had no reason to be in danger again. He had friends now with whom he could truly trust with his life on. He was safe and nothing could go wrong. But then again she just felt doubtful about that. Not that she doubted Miroku or Sango but she doubted her own instinct.

"Please, Miroku. Please, Sango look after him." She said looking at the sky.

However, she never realized that she was too late to say those prayers since out of her knowledge, InuYasha had run away with a pain in his heart buried deep within.

Kagome stood there for a few more minutes until a bright light flashed in the sky and after a few moments a crashing sound of lightning came thundering down to the earth.

* * *

><p>Back at Kaedae's village, Sango looked out at the black sky just imagining the days when under these same skies Miroku used to grope her and she would lend him a hand in his face.<p>

"Lady Sango. I wondered where you were." A voice came from behind.

"Oh, Rin you are not asleep yet?" Sango asked.

"No, I was about to go to sleep when I saw you staring at the sky." Rin replied. "Are you missing someone?"

"Huh, yes I am." Sango replied.

"Is it master Miroku?" Rin asked.

Sango looked at Rin's face who was giving her a big wide smile.

"Maybe, or it could be my brother as well." Sango replied with a smile as she looked at the sky.

"Oh, I see. So you miss both of them." Rin said.

"Well, I miss all of them, even InuYasha and Kagome, and their constant bantering. It was annoying back in the day but now all of a sudden I miss that because the village feels so quiet and lifeless without them." Sango said.

"Please bring him back soon Miroku." She said to herself.

She then looked up as a bright light flashed in the sky and after a few moments a crashing sound of lightning came thundering down to the earth.

* * *

><p>Somewhere Miroku and Kohaku had found themselves out of the forest and were taking shelter under a roof of a nearby village. After a long hard travel they were finally out of the hard soil and at least for now were comfortable.<p>

Kohaku was preparing to sack up for the day inside his futon bed while Miroku was sitting in front of the window looking at the black sky.

"Is something wrong brother-in-law?" Kohaku asked.

"Huh, oh just thinking when will this be all over." Miroku replied.

"It will brother-in-law. We just have to act fast and hope that we find him in time." Kohaku said.

"It will end, but its long way there. Even if we meet him right now we will not be able to convince him to come back. He will try to avoid us by scolding us for following him." Miroku said.

Kohaku could only leave a sigh. Then he settled down to sleep. Miroku did not go to sleep, he just stared at the sky. Then he heard a mew. It was Kirara.

"So you aren't sleeping as well my friend." He said as he stroked the cat demon's hair.

Kirara only gave a mew in response.

"You want me to sleep then? I guess I can't say no to that." Miroku said.

Then he stood up and settled on his own futon bed.

"I wonder what you are doing right now Sango." Miroku thought to himself.

Then Miroku closed his eyes and went to sleep as a bright light flashed in the sky and after a few moments a crashing sound of lightning came thundering down to the earth.

* * *

><p>"Wh..What are you?" InuYasha asked.<p>

Nobu couldn't reply anything. He was caught. He had to give some answers, but how?

"I have no time to explain everything. We have to get to her." Nobu said.

"Not until you tell me everything." InuYasha spoke up in a loud voice.

"I will tell you but now is not the time. We must go after them." Nobu tried to reason.

"Fine" InuYasha replied in a frustrated manner. "But how do you expect to find her."

"I am pretty much sure I know the man who would come after her. Now let's get going. It's not far away from here." Nobu said.

InuYasha agreed and they went forward. It was the night of the new moon and now he was looking for the girl in the night of his weakness. This wasn't going on as planned. How could everything go so horribly wrong?

"Hey, can't we wait till its morning." InuYasha asked.

"NO WE CAN'T WAIT. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?" Nobu yelled back.

InuYasha jumped back in terror. He just yelled at him. But right now he was nothing more than a mere human. He was already weak so he couldn't pound Nobu's head. At least he didn't want to deal with a boy who just got resurrected from his dead state. InuYasha was certain he was dead, but how is that even possible. He didn't even have a stench of a demons scent on him. He couldn't be a demon. He simply smelled like a normal human being. But could he be a ghost or even a spirit. It can't be that as well because ghosts don't have a physical body. They are ethereal beings. What was this boy?

With several questions raised in his weak form he just couldn't argue anymore. He had to agree or this boy might just kill him. After all he resurrected right in front of his eyes. There is a high possibility that InuYasha himself could be killed in this state of his, but no matter what there is no way he could kill this boy.

"Sigh! Suzume is right. I am an idiot. Just look I scared you lifeless. Sorry, I am just tense and impatient with everything happening." Nobu apologized with his palm over his forehead.

Huh! Now that was really unexpected. InuYasha thought Suzume had that split moment changing attitude but this boy as well? He was feeling idiot. With all the things happening InuYasha was now reeling. It was first his human night, then the kidnapped girl and now an idiot boy who can resurrect himself.

"Don't say anything. You just want to save her and I can't argue with that." InuYasha asked.

Nobu only gave a nod. He really felt like an idiot for yelling mindlessly.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU APOLIGIZING ME FOR? LET US GO AND SAVE HER." InuYasha said in a loud voice.

InuYasha stood up and was about to leave expecting the boy to follow him.

"Wait, you don't need to get involved. You don't trust me after all that happened. Let me go alone. We may part ways here." Nobu said.

At that very moment InuYasha just wanted to run away. But how could he even think that he would turn back now? These two got him involved the moment Suzume yelled at him. Even if he wanted he couldn't turn back now. It wasn't even an option. After all turning back wasn't in his dictionary. He had the job to protect them. At least he had to help these two fools out of this mess.

"You idiot, after all the time now you tell me to back away. I'm sorry but I can't. Not now. I wasn't taught to back out from helping people and right now you need my help, so no more objections. Just stand up and let's get this over with." InuYasha scolded Nobu.

"But your ti….."

"FORGET MY TIME, RIGHT NOW HER TIME IS RUNNING OUT." InuYasha yelled again cutting Nobu out.

Nobuhiro on the other hand couldn't argue anymore. He was right time was running out. He could no longer wait. They had to get Suzume back or else… He couldn't even imagine what would happen.

With no other options both of them stood up and went through the darkness to find Suzume.

The sky was slowly being covered with black cloud with every step they took. The stars were being hidden away by the dark black mass in the sky ready to drop off its share of load on the ground.

"So who is this guy you're after?" InuYasha asked curiously.

"He is Kenji Makashima, the young leader of his group of samurais and also the head of his village." Nobu replied.

"What has he got to do with Suzume?" InuYasha asked.

"I don't know it yet. But something tells me he hasn't got any good motives." Nobu replied.

InuYasha was listening closely.

"However I did hear that a group of demons framed him for some crime that he didn't commit which led him to being exiled. It was for that reason he hated demons. He then later on saved a group of slaves and established a village. He trained a few men to be a samurai while he taught the rest of the village things like agriculture." Nobu told the story.

"That's very common. I have heard a lot of humans having grudge against demons. That's nothing new." InuYasha responded. "So where are we going?"

"That bastard's village is not far away from here. We are almost out of the forest. That's where we are going." Nobu replied.

They walked throught the darkness in silence. When…

"Uhm, hey." InuYasha called.

"Yes?" Nobu asked.

"What are you?" InuYasha asked back.

"I knew you would ask me that question. I figured that a long time ago." Nobu replied.

"Are you gonna tell me or not?" InuYasha asked in a frustrated manner.

"Geez, calm down, will you?" Nobu spoke up.

"Then, spit it out." InuYasha replied.

"Okay, Okay. Sigh! You are probably thinking that I may be a demon or a ghost. But to be honest, I am a human or you can say a dead human and a foolish being that committed a fatal taboo for a human being and got lucky." Nobu replied.

"And what that taboo might be?" InuYasha asked.

"I ate the flesh of a god." Nobu replied.

What? It couldn't be. This boy claims to have eaten a god's meat. How could that even be possible? Gods never manifest themselves to the realm of the living. Till now InuYasha had only faced four so called gods. But besides that, there were no gods he faced. He only faced demons, spirits and ghosts and all of them had weird background revolving around them. But not in once he heard a god manifesting from the world beyond the skies. This couldn't be the truth.

"How can that be possible? Gods don't manifest themselves to world of the living being." InuYasha asked.

"Actually they do. It is said that there is one rare night in many moon cycles when gods manifest themselves to the world of the living. They come down from the world beyond to live one day as a normal human being. But during this time only male gods manifest themselves to the earth. It is said that they manifest as human beings in order to check on the world as a human and to solve problems by emotionally connecting with humans. So they can make correct choices. However there are some gods who have only ill intents. These gods are often told to be servants of the great gods who are mostly jealous of their position. So when they manifest to the world of living, it is up to the great gods to look after them. If they fail then they can do anything. Some will resist their inner unhappiness and do what's right, some don't feel anything and are told to be happy with what they are and what they have while others will take the advantage and flee to wreak havoc. And when they do then bad things can happen." He replied.

They moved even forward when Nobu spoke up again.

"But to be honest I ate the flesh of a half-god."

Here was another plot changing nonsense. InuYasha was getting tired of this entire plot changing problems. How many times was he going to twist and turn the plot? Couldn't he stay in one straight narration?

"SAY IT STRAIGHT FOOL." InuYasha yelled.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN FOOL?" Nobu yelled back.

InuYasha kept quiet. He already had enough things running in his head, arguing would the last thing to do. However the whole lore was indeed intriguing to him. He had to listen more.

"It is said that during this period a god becomes equivalent to a human. Meaning he will feel hunger, pain, emotion, everything. The only thing he can't do is to die, no matter what happens they can't die. So during this period if they breed with humans, they can conceive children." Nobu narrated.

"So why did you eat it? If it were a taboo then you could have avoided it." InuYasha asked.

"Let's just say I wasn't exposed to the world enough at the time. My father decided that I was old enough not to be lazing around the house. So they sent me with a group of people to travel farther lands. It was one night when all of the people from my group came late. They had a lot of meat saying it was our dinner. They said it was a new type of meat. The one made with magic. They relayed to me that if we ate the meat it would grant any wish. Now imagine that happening, any wish that would come true. Any man would jump on board if they were given such opportunity. I really didn't have a wish at that time. I was only curious with excitement and therefore ate it. I never knew that the consequences would be….horrible." Nobu replied as he closed his eyes.

"So, what happened next?" InuYasha asked intrigued by his story.

"After that, everyone died right in front of my eyes. Some were turned into hideous monsters called soulless. I somehow survived. I don't know why. All I know is I was alive and normal. I wasn't turned into those soulless yet nor was I dead. The soulless attacked me and the next moment I know is when I found myself waking up in immense pain. I noticed that I had a deep tear on my cloth on the backside and a blood all over the floor. I was slashed in the back by one of those soulless. But I never realized that. I was lost, confused. I couldn't even go back home. I had no home anymore, until I was finally taken in a village. It was later on, I realized that I couldn't die. I was given eternal life. I couldn't age, I couldn't die. I cannot even believe that I have even lost count of how old I am. All the people I have lived with grew old and passed away right in front of my eyes. After that people started thrashing me mercilessly because of their jealousy that I could live an eternal life and they couldn't. In other words they tried to kill me but in vain. So I couldn't take it anymore. The moment they thought I was dead I ran and began wandering places not making attachments to anybody. I was all alone in the world. For the first time in my life I had a wish and that was to die. For countless times I tried to kill myself but I just failed every time. I just hated living until.. until.." Nobu said.

"You met Suzume." InuYasha filled the words that Nobuhiro was failing to speak.

"Yes, it was after that I realized I had a purpose in living. I only lived for Suzume, and nobody else." Nobu replied.

InuYasha could only hear his story. He could only imagine his own story at the time. But this boy had something to live for. He was envying something he couldn't have, a reason to live.

InuYasha didn't care if he would live or die. He had no purpose in life anymore. He had no Kagome.

"Yes, so what is your story?" Nobu asked back.

"I am a half-demon. As you know, we have no place in either place in this world. I never knew my father. My mother never spoke about him. I was always bullied by children, beaten down by the villagers. My mother was also hated for baring a child of a demon. But she didn't have to suffer anymore. She died later on and I was there looking at her die just feeling helpless….."

InuYasha narrated his story. Well, most of it.

"And that was my story."InuYasha said as he finished narrating his story.

"I see, so we are all of same." Nobu responded looking at the black sky as InuYasha finished his story.

"I guess. I was seeing myself when I saw you." InuYasha said.

"Hahaha, it was the same thing here." Nobu said. "Oh! We are here."

They had finally reached the village. Most of the questions were answered now. But there was still more left to be answered. What has Suzume got to do in all this game? How would Nobu reverse the mistake he made? But one thing was now clear to InuYasha, he could trust these people. He had no reason to doubt these two. After hearing a story like this he was sure that they wouldn't kill him or whatever. Right now he was weak and he needed help. But for now it seemed these two needed help even more.

InuYasha looked over and looked at the village that lay down the hill as a bright light flashed in the sky and after a few moments a crashing sound of lightning came thundering down to the earth.

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><p><strong>So in this chapter I unveiled the lore behind this arc and a slice of Nobu's past. I thought I owe it to you guys for the cliffhanger I left you all with last time. But I haven't revealed everything.<strong>

**Well, that's it for this chapter guys. Please, do feel free to leave a review since it would really help me or send me a PM if you have any questions or just to chat around. I will try to answer them if possible.  
><strong>

**Also before I go I would like to mention that first chapter for my second series called "InuYasha NEO" is live. If you are interested please feel free to check it out. So that's it for now guys and I will see you all around.**

**My favourite InuYasha songs:**

_-My Will (1'st closing)_  
><em>-Fukai Mori (2'nd closing)<em>  
><em>-GRIP! (4'th opening)<em>  
><em>-Inai Mirai (or simply The Final Act opening)<em>


	11. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Rescue Attempt

**Hey guys! Just like always, here's new chapter. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Surise or Viz Media.**

* * *

><p>The thunders crashed loud in the sky as InuYasha approached the village. After talking their way through the forest they walked towards the village.<p>

"So what's the plan?" InuYasha asked.

"I say we go inside and beat them all up." Nobu replied.

"Idiot you think it's easy? I'm still weak remember. You may not die but I can. On top of that we don't even know where they have held Suzume hostage. So if we wreak havoc then it is highly likely that they will take her somewhere else by the time we get to this Kenji's house. You got all that. So we got to sneak through. " InuYasha said.

"It doesn't sound like my type of action." Nobu said.

"It doesn't sound like mine either. But unlike you I have got a head to protect and I'm very weak at this moment. Or else I would have stormed this place long ago. So we got no other choice." InuYasha replied.

"Okay" Nobu said. "Got any other plans?"

"Will depend on how much successful we can be over this." InuYasha replied.

With every step, the wind began howling even louder and louder as they approached the village.

After a few moments they finally reached the village. They hid behind a bush as they surveyed the area. InuYasha was correct there were many men patrolling the area. They looked at each other and nodded as they dashed silently into two different directions.

* * *

><p>One of the guards was feeling pretty lazy after all the work he had faced earlier in the day. He was expecting an evening off but there was some emergency guard work that the master had told him to do. As a payment he would get full two days off of work. But the night was very dark and it was likely they had to work under rain since the clouds were clashing against each other that night. At that moment he just wanted the night to end quickly. He wouldn't even get to imagine in his dreams that his night shift would soon end.<p>

As lightning flashed a dark figure swept through the scene. It was lightning very loudly so he couldn't hear the rustle. Then within another flash he saw a figure behind one of his colleague. Then whithin another flash he was gone leaving the man unconscious. The guard immediately went into alert. The master was right. There was someone coming after them. Then within another flash another man was down. Then another and another until he was the only one left standing.

He was confused. What was going on? All of them were down.

Then in the next lightening flash he saw a figure in front of him. Then in another flash there were now two figures in front of him and then in the next flash both of them were gone.

He looked around for their existence. Not finding anything he turned around as he saw the shadow figure right in front of his eyes as it knocked him out cold.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was fun." Nobu said.<p>

"It was my first time either. I've never tried anything like this before and I never fought anybody in my time of weakness." InuYasha said as they moved the cold unconscious bodies into a corner and tied them up by a rope they had found lying among the dead bodies back at the forest.

It began to rain as InuYasha and Nobu entered the village. As they guessed, the village was sprawling with men. It was a hard time to get through all of them. They were almost caught, but the hard rain and the constant thunder blinded the guard's vision very well. At least nature gave the two a really good advantage.

After, avoiding several guards they went halfway into the village when suddenly a group of guards appeared in front of them. Then lightning suddenly flashed. The guards immediately noticing the two boy's silhouette in the flash as they immediately became suspicious. They ran towards the area and the next moment they saw another group of guards in front of them. Thinking they saw each other they went on their own ways.

Reality was Nobu and InuYasha had jumped inside the open door of a nearby hut and hid there.

"Damn this is getting annoying." InuYasha spoke up. "How many guards can this fool hire?"

"More than you can think." Nobu replied.

"Well, this Kenji fool is prepared. It's going to be hard getting Suzume back." InuYasha said.

"It's not that hard though. This rain is helping us a lot." Nobu said.

Then lightning flashed outside again.

"Yeah, but all my life a rain hasn't bugged me this much." InuYasha said as he kneeled down and he shook his whole body trotting off the water much similar to a dog.

"Okay, now what you just did is weird. You're not a half-demon right now." Nobu said.

"It's a habit. I always do this." InuYasha said.

"Yeah right, makes you look like a dog." Nobu said.

"Hey don't make fun of it. I am a half-demon, not a dog." InuYasha snapped.

"Will you just shut up? We are lucky that the rain is loud outside or else we would be caught long ago." Nobu yelled.

"Hey, you smell that." InuYasha said sniffing the area.

"Hey you are not even in your human form. How is your nose so sensitive?" Nobu asked.

"Cause it's not. Smell carefully you should be able to as well." InuYasha said.

"Yeah, I smell it too. It smells strange." Nobu replied sniffing the area closely.

"I think I know that smell. I think it's…" InuYasha was speaking.

Then a lightning flashed in the sky again revealing the object in the hut that gave away the strange smell.

* * *

><p>At the mansion that was high up in a hill near the village, two soldiers bought a tied up Suzume in front of a man.<p>

"Sir, we have got her, just like you commanded." One of the soldiers spoke up.

"Good, you are dismissed." The man said.

"Sir" he said as he left.

"Well, I finally found you Suzume." The man said as he stood up.

"What do you want with me? Kenji." Suzume asked.

"That's a question too easy to answer." The man named Kenji spoke up. "If I told you now, what fun would it be?"

Kenji then approached Suzume.

"All I can say is I have a lot of plans for you." Kenji said.

"Well, whatever you are planning, they are bound to fail." Suzume said gritting her teeth.

"Are you sure?" Kenji asked taunting the girl in front of him.

"I couldn't be any surer." Suzume replied.

"Well, sorry to crush your hopes. But the boy you were travelling with is probably dead and that half demon probably can't find you. So you're all mine." Kenji said with an evil grin.

Suzume couldn't say anything. She just looked down to the ground with her face being hidden by her bangs. Kenji gave another smirk in victory. He really thought he would win. At that moment Kenji could only hear low voices coming from her which indicated she was sobbing. He had really broken her, he thought. He was really wrong.

The sound became clearer with every moment. Then suddenly Suzume threw her head up and laughed hard looking at the ceiling. Kenji was now surprised. The girl was laughing. He was expcting the girl to break down. But now she is laughing?

"Do you honestly think that I have no other choice of escape?" Suzume asked after controlling her laughter a little bit.

"Why do you ask?" Kenji asked.

"If that's so, then you are horribly mistaking. I will escape this hell and you will just stand here looking at us go." Suzume said.

"Keep dreaming." Kenji responded.

"I am not the one dreaming here. You are." Suzume said.

"SHUT UP." Kenji snapped.

"I will be free from your grasp and you will be able to do nothing. We haven't lost yet. You will still lose." Suzume taunted Kenji.

"I said SHUT UP." Kenji reiterated.

Then he went forward and slapped Suzume who was then thrown to the ground. But she still kept on laughing.

"I will not be able to escape from here you say. Heh. You are horribly wrong. He will come, you hear me. HE WILL COME." Suzume said.

* * *

><p>InuYasha and Nobu on the other hand were passing through the village. This time they were carrying some sort of a cloth.<p>

"Man looks like this fool had found that bandit." InuYasha spoke up.

"Who are you talking about?" Nobu replied.

"It's somebody who tried to play with fire." InuYasha said. "So where do you think she is?"

"I guess we have to find out." Nobu said.

"And how do you think we are going to find that out?" InuYasha asked.

Then suddenly a group of guards appeared from sides. It was really raining hard so the guards couldn't see them. But due to their experience in worst case scenario the two could see what were in front of them.

"I guess we should beat some info out of them." Nobu said pointing to one of the guards. "How does that sound?"

"Well, sounds nice to me." InuYasha said.

"Just be careful not to dampen the package." Nobu said.

Then they moved forward and within a flash they covered the mouth of the guard and dragged him inside into one of the coincidentally empty hut and then immediately tying him up with great difficulty.

"Hey what the hell are doing? Who are you?" The guards began questioning.

The guard's questions were answered when lightning flashed revealing their faces.

"So, you are that half-demon and that boy. You are after the girl aren't you?" The guard asked again.

"Let's just say we just came here to take back what is not yours." InuYasha said.

"But how did you survive? You were confirmed dead." The guard was surprised.

"Eyes can deceive you well you know." Nobu replied. "InuYasha, you finish up the work."

"Eh, are you sure you will be all right?" InuYasha asked.

"I will be. You go, just be careful not to damp that thing too much." Nobu said.

"Don't worry. It looks like it will resist water." InuYasha replied.

"Good, now go." Nobu said.

"Okay, but don't get into any trouble and be careful." InuYasha warned.

With these words he went out with the package. Then straightening the man up, Nobu began asking him questions.

"Now tell me where have you kept her?" Nobu asked.

"I would never say anything to likes of you." The guard said.

"I could beat the crap out of you. So just spit it out. It is raining outside so they will not hear anything. Not even your cries." Nobu said.

"Try your best. I won't even break a word." The soldier taunted.

"So, you're loyal to your master huh. It's so sad to say that your master is full of crap." Nobu said.

"How dare you say that about our master? The likes like you who try to rut our village with your works. How dare you even try to take a step on our village? You know nothing about our master, you got that, nothing." The soldier yelled.

"Looks like you will have to enlighten me then." Nobu said.

"Huh, why should I say anything to you?" The soldier asked.

"Well, maybe if you tell me we might have a little bit of understanding." Nobu said.

"Huh do you honestly think that we would let you have the girl, when we have the opportunity to fight demons without any problems. For years we have been under the threat of a demon. Do you think we would back up now, especially now when we have an opportunity to become strong?" The soldier replied.

"So you plan on killing her I see." Nobu said.

"The likes like her should never exist in the first place. She is a curse to this world." The soldier said.

Nobu couldn't handle anymore as he threw a punch in the soldiers face.

"How dare say anything like that about her." Nobu said.

"Why? Is it because you love her or because you want to fulfill your greedy desires?" The soldier taunted.

Nobu couldn't say anything he just kept quite in anger.

"You know you will never get her for yourself. We will make sure of that." The soldier said.

"So now I know why you are after her. So you could fulfill your greedy desires, and you call me greedy? You think I want immortality? Think again, I should be dead by now because the truth is I am already immortal. You people are fools because you think being immortal means the greatest thing ever created. But you never realize it's the biggest curse you will ever have in your life. Once you realize it you will simply wish to die." Nobu said.

"Heh, you will never get her. You will lose. You got that?" The soldier said.

Nobu couldn't contain his anger. He just simply went forward and knocked the guard unconscious.

"Heh, you are wrong. I never loose. I have never, have I?" Nobu himself asked in a low voice.

He immediately got his answer when the next moment he felt something hit the back of his head as fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>InuYasha who was confused on what to do next caught a glimpse of something. A few men were seen near the hut where Nobu was.<p>

"Crap what now?" InuYasha asked himself.

A few moments later he got his answer as the men carried a body out of the hut. It was Nobu. He was now caught. It was now all up to InuYasha but what was he going to do? He became really confused. With nothing left in his head he decided to follow the guards.

* * *

><p>"Sir we caught the intruder in the village." The soldier said as he threw Nobu in front of him.<p>

"NOBU" Suzume yelled.

"Good Job, you may go." Kenji said to the men.

"So it seems you are alive." Kenji said. "Looks like I underestimated you two."

"Heh, what did you expect from us loser?" Nobu asked while taunting Kenji.

Kenji did not respond. He quietly stood up and began thrashing Nobuhiro badly. So much that blood began coming out of Nobu's mouth.

"STOP IT YOU MONSTER." Suzume yelled while struggling with her shackles.

"I told you that you will not get out of here. But Suzume, why did you have to be so optimistic?" Nobu asked sarcastically while taunting her.

"Leave him alone." Suzume yelled again.

Kenji looked at Suzume and grinned hard. Then he continued thrashing Nobu again.

After thrashing several times and finally exhausting himself, Kenji stopped the torture. But that wasn't enough for him. Nobu was lying there all hopeless and with no energy left. Blood was flowing pretty badly out of his body and he was growing weak. Suzume could do nothing more that look in horror.

But Kenji wasn't done. All his life he had been after Suzume and this boy in front of him had taken her away from him for so many years. After all Nobu had a lot to pay the price for.

Kenji simply stepped on the head giving immense pain to Nobu.

"You may be immortal. Unfortunately, those wounds won't heal until you die and revive again. So those wounds will hurt badly. Am I not right? How pathetic? I could use a man like you in my army. But since you will not, I could enjoy myself cutting you up to pieces over and over, again and again." Kenji said taunting.

Then Kenji picked Nobu up by his hair and looked into his eyes.

"But what fun would that be. After all I want to hear you scream. I want to see you begging to just die and I want to step on that hopeless body of yours time and again to remind you that you are messing with Kenji. If I want anything, then I will get it anyhow." He said.

With these words he threw the bloodied face of Nobuhiro away from his gaze. Suzume could only look in shock and horror. Kenji saw this and approached her and grabbed her chin.

"I love that look in your face. Keep it for me will you." He said and he stood up.

"MEN!" Kenji called as he cleaned his hands.

Then two guards appeared and kneeled down in front of Kenji.

"Tie these two up in the pole outside. Maybe the rain will wash some sense into these two." He commanded.

"Yes, sir." The soldiers said as they dragged the blood soaked body of Nobu and a shocked Suzume outside.

Kenji could only smirk in victory. He looked outside as the two were being tied up to a pole. Thinking of several things he could do later on, he went inside.

* * *

><p>Suzume was also now feeling hopeless. There her only protector was laying blood soaked and tied up in the rain and she couldn't do anything. Why did she have to feel hopeless? Why? At least if she had tried to fight both of them would be out of trouble.<p>

They were well tied up and Nobu was in great pain. His face now all bruised and battered. If only she could fight. Then Nobu wouldn't be in this condition. Suzume could only look at his face when she noticed he was smiling, no he was laughing. Suzume realized he was up to something, but what?

Then suddenly there was a huge bang in a distance. Then there was another and another as every bang sounded closer and closer. Suzume thought it was the lightning, but something was funny. Lightning don't crash in periodic order and sound that came more sounded more like an explosion. Suzume looked up in the sky to see the smoke rising in the sky and the village down the hill in flames.

"Huh! What was that?" One of the soldiers asked.

"We should go and see." The second guard said.

Then another guard came.

"There are explosions happening all over the village. What is going on?" The guard asked.

"Looks like somebody raided the armory. But who could it be? The boy is right here." The guard said.

"The culprit is right here." A voice spoke up.

The guards turned around to see InuYasha holding a small flaming stick on one hand and a long rope on the other.

"Who are you?" The guards asked.

"Isn't it obvious idiots. I'm a half-demon." InuYasha replied.

With these words he burned the rope as it burned its way behind the mansion.

"What the...WATCH OUT." A guard yelled.

Then the mansion in front of them exploded throwing flaming wood pieces all over the place. The guards kept looking at the burning mansion with shock.

"SIR" One of them yelled.

Their master was inside.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah! I'm ending it right here. I know it sucks but I didn't want to end it here either. The chapter became too long and I felt like I was rushing it to the end. So I didn't want that. Also this chapter isn't one my greatest so far thanks to the writer's block was constantly being thrown at my face. Also, I have been watching too much 'Future DiaryMirai Nikki','Another' and 'Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni'. So at the moment, my brain is screwed up right now.**

**Anyways, I have posted another one shot last week called 'The Void'. Please do check it out if you are interested. Also, chapter 12 will be posted next week as usual and I will try to write and post chapter 2 for NEO either this week or the next. But it will depend on my routine. I will post chapter 12 but I can't promise you on NEO.**

**Finally, my sister has written some stories for Naruto. So if you read some Naruto stories then do check out her story. Her name here in FF is 'arthur dark'.**

**So how was the chapter guys? Please let me know in the review and do feel free to fire me up a PM if you have any questions or if you just wanna chat around.**

**Well, that's it for this chapter guys. I hope you like it and I will see you all around.**


	12. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Escape

**Hi guys! Here's chapter 12 like I promised. I decided to post it one day earlier since tomorrow is New Year in my local area and I will be pretty busy. Anyways, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media, especially InuYasha.**

* * *

><p>The guards kept looking at the burning mansion with shock. Their master was inside and now he was trapped there.<p>

As all them snapped back to reality and looked around, InuYasha lunged in and threw a drop kick in the head of one the guard and punched the other two unconscious. He had to use more force this time since he the night of new moon wasn't over.

"Man did these fools hire Renkotsu? Makes me wonder how these bombs worked in this rain." InuYasha asked himself with a grin.

But then he noticed the burning village down the hill. InuYasha at that moment realized what he had done. He had just burned down a village. He had made several humans homeless, probably even killed a few in the process. But he had no other choice. He had vowed to protect these two no matter what. He had taken made a promise, and he knew no way to break it.

"InuYasha" he heard a voice from his behind his back.

InuYasha then looked around and found his two companions tied up to a pole and one of them was brutally injured.

With all of them knocked out cold, InuYasha took a knife from one of the soldiers. Then he approached the two tied up bodies and began cutting them loose.

"I knew I could count on you." Nobu said in great pain.

"Hold your breath." InuYasha said as he sliced the rope that bound him to the pole.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

Nobu could only give a nod. He was too weak to even talk.

"Thank you InuYasha." Suzume thanked.

"Save it for later. We still have yet to escape." InuYasha said.

After cutting the two free InuYasha looked back at the burning village once more.

"Forgive me." He said looking at the burning village.

"We must get out of here." Suzume said.

At that moment a few more voices that belonged to the village guard, were heard from a distance.

"Come on we need to go." Nobuhiro said.

InuYasha nodded in agreement as they vanished up the hill.

* * *

><p>At some village, after hearing a loud explosion Miroku, Kohaku and Kirara woke up.<p>

"What was that, brother in law?" Kohaku asked.

"Don't know, maybe bandits." Miroku replied.

"Then we must go out and help those people."

They went outside and saw the village in flames. People were running here and there in the middle of the downpour trying desperately to escape the fire. Guards all confused. What did just happen?

"Excuse me. May I know what is going on?" Miroku asked a guard who was passing by.

"Two humans attacked the village." The guard replied.

"What? Who are these humans? Are they bandits?" Miroku asked.

"The details are scarce but I do believe one of them was wearing red clothes and had a very long hair. Please master monk, move away from this place. It's dangerous." The guard replied.

"I have to go and see. This might be the half-demon I am after." Miroku said.

"What, a half-demon?" The guard was surprised.

"It is the night of the new moon, so he can be in his human form. Please you must let me see." Miroku pleaded.

"Okay, master monk." The guard agreed.

Then another explosion occurred from a distance.

"That's master's mansion." The guard said as he ran towards the place.

Miroku with no other option began to go after the man.

"Brother in law wait up do you think it's him?" Kohaku asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Miroku said. "What are you doing InuYasha?"

* * *

><p>Back at the burning mansion, the guards arrived at the site. They were shocked to find out the mansion burning to cinder.<p>

"Okay, split up. We need to find them." One of the guards spoke up.

Looking around they finally found the three unconscious guards lying cold and two cut down ropes lying on the ground. They had really escaped.

One of the guards went forward and stood on his knees as he desperately tried to wake up the soldiers. After several tries the guard finally woke up.

"What happened?" The 1st guard asked.

"They knocked us down and they got away." The 2nd guard replied while rubbing his head. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You did what you could." The 1st guard said.

"Look someone's coming out." Another soldier pointed out.

A figure came out of the burning house. It was Kenji. Somehow the bastard had survived with only minor wounds. He was literally scorched and his upper garments he was wearing were filled with holes. However he wasn't burnt badly. He was carrying a sheathed sword with him.

As he came out he found out that there was a small fire burning on his left shoulder. He immediately grabbed that side, extinguishing the fire and within a strong pull he ripped it apart leaving his upper body bare. Feeling the immense heat annoying he stepped onto the rain to cool himself down.

"SIR" One of the guards yelled.

Kenji turned around to see the guards. They sighed in relief to see their master safe and sound.

"What is going on?" Kenji asked

"It's the half-demon. He set explosives all over the village and.." The guard was speaking.

"Spare me the rest of the details. I know they have escaped. Where did they go?" Kenji asked.

"They went up the hill. I apologize for letting them get away but they knocked us all out." The guard replied pointing up towards hill.

"Good, I'm going after them. No one comes after me. They are mine and mine alone. You go help other's extinguish the fire at the village." Kenji commanded. "And before I forget, find something worth apologizing. You did your best to stop him. Now go."

"But sir, you are burnt. You might need medical attention." The guard said.

"I am fine, these scorches are nothing. You go help others. " Kenji said.

The guard couldn't say anything. He just kept staring at him.

"Don't stare at me just go." Kenji reiterated.

"Yes sir." The guard said as he ran away towards the village.

"You have done me enough damage NOBUHIRO." Kenji said to himself.

With these words he unsheathed his sword and went uphill where InuYasha and the crew had run off to.

* * *

><p>Down at the village Miroku, Kohaku along with Kirara were running through the burning village following a guard. There were people running everywhere for their lives. Houses were set on fire. What madness was this? This isn't what InuYasha does. He couldn't even think of the making humans suffer. Then why did he do this? Has he forgotten what he is? Why?<p>

These questions constantly plagued Miroku's head.

Then another guard appeared in front of them.

"How is everything up hill?" The first guard asked.

"Master is safe. He has commanded us to put out the fire in the village." The second guard said.

"Then what about the intruders?" The first guard asked.

"Master is after them. We are given strict orders, not to follow him. He said he wanted to deal with them alone." The second guard replied.

"Are you sure?" The first guard asked just to be sure.

"Yes, I am sure." The second guard replied.

"Okay then we must not spare any time." The first guard said.

Miroku who was standing nearby overheard this. As the first guard went to warn others, Miroku stopped the other guard midway.

"Excuse me, but was it one person who did all this?" Miroku asked.

"The explosions were triggered by one person. He is assumed to be a half-demon but he looks like a human. However, along with the assumed half-demon we have two more culprits who escaped. They are one girl and a boy." The guard replied.

"I see." Miroku replied.

"Master Monk, may I know the cause of your asking this question? Please don't allow us to be suspicious about your alliance with them." The guard asked.

"You have nothing to worry to about that. I have no ties to the other two. However, I am in search of the half-demon and it seems this half-demon might be the one I am searching for." Miroku replied.

"And may we know why you are after him?" The guard asked.

"My master gave me a task to find him." Miroku replied.

That was half-truth. He was finding InuYasha. But not under the orders from a master, but orders from a side of his heart which had only place for one purpose. The side was for a friend.

"I see, my apologies master monk, but we strictly told not to follow the master. He intends to hunt them down alone." The guard said.

"I can understand your viewpoint." Miroku replied.

Kohaku and Kirara could only watch the conversation from a distance. Miroku on the other hand was now even more confused. Was this half-demon really InuYasha? If it was so, then how come he has made two companions? What on earth was he up to? Why did he have to blow up half of the village?

With these thoughts in mind Miroku moved along with soldiers to help the soldiers put out the fire. He had to go after InuYasha. But he didn't want to be labeled as a criminal.

* * *

><p>Far away from the village up in the some hill InuYasha and his crew were still running. They had finally made it away from the village and at least they would still be safe for the moment. But they weren't sure. They could be tricked like last time.<p>

However, luck might not have always been on their side. After running for almost half the night, they got away from the village. But, there was a dead end on their way. In the thundering storm and the unforgiving downpour, a river got on their way. The river which was flowing so violently that even fishes would have hard time keeping up with the current.

"Damn, what are we going to do now?" InuYasha asked.

Nobu was now starting to pass out from the pain. He couldn't move anymore and it was getting harder for him to even stand up.

"Ahh, I can't do it." Nobu said.

"Come on, not now. We can't stop now." InuYasha said.

"I can't. It's starting to hurt." Nobu replied.

"Come on. You're stronger than this." InuYasha said.

"I can't stand, you idiot. I may be immortal, doesn't mean I don't feel pain." Nobu said.

"Guess, I will have to get to work now." InuYasha said.

InuYasha then went forward and picked Nobu up by arms.

"Gods, you're heavy." InuYasha said as he moved both of them towards the water.

"Don't slow yourself down like this. Kill me and then you can carry me all the way until I wake up." Nobu suggested.

"Are you crazy? Don't make me kill you. I don't kill a human, whether they are immortal or not." InuYasha said.

"Forget the morals. We must escape no matter what. We must do it right now and live or get captured and get killed or tortured." Suzume suggested.

"Suzume is right. I can live anyway. But you can't live forever like me. So do it." Nobu said.

"I WON'T" InuYasha said in a loud voice.

"JUST DO IT YOU IDIOT." Nobu yelled.

"Gladly" A voice spoke from behind them.

Then lightning flashed in the sky as Suzume's wide eyes saw the enraged Kenji with his sword raised in the air ready to strike its prey.

"WATCH OUT." Suzume yelled.

InuYasha realizing the danger, leaped forward. But it was too late, the blade managed to make a deep cut on InuYasha's skin. However, he was barely lucky since the blade failed to even touch his spine.

InuYasha plopped down in pain along with Nobuhiro in front of Suzume. He was also now injured and it was very painful. This was the reason why he hated his human night. He always hated it for he would become weak and hopeless. But at that moment he didn't care. It was his time of weakness, but they also had to escape.

"HAHAHA, give it up. You cannot escape." Kenji threatened.

"Like hell." InuYasha replied.

InuYasha didn't give up hope however. He really didn't want to die by the hands of some fool like this. He was going to escape. He was going to save the two people who were totally relying on him.

With very little strength he had left on his body, he stood up and grabbed his sword.

"You think I would give up. Never, this may be my time of weakness. But I never back down. Keep dreaming, fool cause I am never giving up to the likes of you." InuYasha said.

"How pathetic, then I have no other choice but to kill you. " Kenji said.

Within a flash Kenji appeared in front of InuYasha as he raised his sword, ready to strike the half-demon in front of him. Then within a flash he swung his sword.

Suzume on the other hand was lost on her decision. Several words kept playing on her head.

"_What am I going to do? Should I do it? No, I shouldn't be thinking my decision. I have no choice. I have to do it."_

InuYasha was ready to take out his sword, when he was immediately yanked backwards. However, the sword still managed to injure him on the chest. The next moment he found himself in water.

It was Suzume, who had pulled them inside the river. She had no other option but to pull both of them down into the river.

InuYasha couldn't see anything. He was completely blinded. The rain with the violent current and his human form was making it hard for him to swim. Then he felt a grab across his chest.

"Huh, who's there?" InuYasha asked.

"It's me." InuYasha heard Suzumes voice.

"Couldn't you come up with another plan?" InuYasha asked in an annoyed tone.

"It's better than getting cut down into pieces." Suzume replied.

"Fine. Where's Nobu?" InuYasha asked as splashed on his face.

"Don't worry he's with me." Suzume replied.

But at that moment InuYasha saw a figure running across the bank of the river. He couldn't make anything out of it. Everything was very blur. Was it a demon?

Then suddenly the figure jumped halfway across the river and landed on a rock. The figure wasn't a demon. As lightning flashed, the figure was revealed to be Kenji. As the three figures that were in the water approached him, Kenji raised his sword to strike again.

"Watch out" Suzume yelled.

Then she pulled everyone under water missing Kenji's yet another strike.

"What the hell is going on? How did he make it halfway across?" InuYasha asked in a frustrated manner as he drank more water from the river.

InuYasha thought they had lost Kenji for good this time. But then something even strange happened.

"What the.." InuYasha said to himself.

Kenji was now jumping across several rocks as he chased the three.

"He can do that? That's not fair." InuYasha yelled.

"Shut up will you." Suzume yelled.

Kenji jumped again and now was about to land directly on top of the three. He raised his sword and was about to strike again.

"Move out" InuYasha yelled.

Then immediately InuYasha pulled out the sheathed Tessaiga and shielded everyone. Kenji's sword touched the sheath and the next moment a loud force threw him backwards. But Kenji managed to land gracefully again on one of the rocks.

"Doesn't this guy know when to give up?" InuYasha asked now very annoyed.

"InuYasha" He heard Suzume call out.

"What?" InuYasha asked rudely.

"Brace yourself." She replied as she clutched both of the boys closer.

"Huh, what do you mean?" InuYasha asked.

He got his answer when Suzume pointed down the river. He realized they were approaching a waterfall. The danger was high. If they stood in one place, then a man would kill them. If they moved with the flow of the water then they would fall down.

"What do we do now?" InuYasha panicked.

"Just hold on." Suzume replied.

InuYasha could do nothing more than close his eyes as the waterfall approached closer. Then the next moment InuYasha found himself dropping into the oblivion. Then everything went black.

Kenji who was following them, finally stood on the rock that was right before the drop of the waterfall.

"Well played Nobuhiro. We shall meet at the night of the eclipse." Kenji said.

It was still raining. However, with these words, possibly the worst night of Kenji's life finally ended as sun rose in the sky but hidden beyond the black clouds flourishing the light over the darkness.

* * *

><p>Back at the village, Miroku and Kohaku were investigating the exploded house.<p>

"Then they went uphill." Miroku spoke up.

"Yes, master monk." The guard said.

"I see. You may go now." Miroku said.

The guard hearing these words bowed and left the scene.

"Is it InuYasha?" Kohaku asked.

"I have no doubt it's him." Miroku asked.

Then he turned around to look at the ruined village. Thanks to the help of the rain, the village had finally stopped the fire. But a lot was damaged. However, no lives were lost.

A lot of the things made no sense to Miroku. Why would InuYasha destroy a village? Why would he wreak such havoc? And who were the two prisoners InuYasha rescued? For all Miroku knew, InuYasha would never wreak such havoc even though Kagome weren't around. What changed him suddenly? Or

"Am I taking him in the wrong light?" Miroku questioned himself as he looked at the sky.

* * *

><p>Far away in some place, InuYasha finally woke up. He immediately began choking out the water he had drunk up. After finally getting over himself, he looked around. Day had finally broken out. But there were clouds all over the sky and it was still raining heavily. But that didn't matter. He finally got his demonic powers back and they had finally gotten away from that freak Kenji.<p>

But wait, where were the two? InuYasha looked around when a figure caught his eyesight as he bagan moving towards it. A little bit in a distance Nobu was sitting under a tree. His wounds were all healed and he was breathing normally. However, he was very tired.

Realizing he was being watched, Nobu opened his eyes to find his half-demon friend.

"So you woke up?" Nobu asked.

"Are you okay?" InuYasha asked.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Nobu asked. "The last thing I remember is you dropped me on the ground and next moment I found myself here."

"Let's say we got away." InuYasha said.

"But he will come back." Nobu replied.

"Why?" InuYasha asked.

Nobu only pointed towards the river. There on the water was Suzume. Her body was submerged in water and her elbows were on the bank. She was safe, but why was she naked? InuYasha looked around and found her clothes in a distance. InuYasha then approached Suzume.

"Hey Suzume!" InuYasha called. "You don't want to be caught naked would you?"

Suzume looked up at InuYasha. However, that question was enough to make InuYasha shocked all over again as his eyes widened in surprise.

He couldn't believe for a second at what he was seeing. Suzmue's eyes were supposed to be brown, but now they were blue. What happened to her eyes? Had he been mistaking it all along? No, they were brown. He was sure, they were brown. But how did they change all of a sudden.

Then InuYasha noticed something else. In the crystal clear water, there lay a huge body of a fish. However, there was only half of it. He couldn't believe at what he was seeing when he realized the truth. Now he knew why humans and demons were after her.

Suzume, was a human. What a wrong assumption he had made all this time. Suzume wasn't a human. She was a half-demon just like him, but a different one. Half human body, half of that of a fish demon. In simple words, she was a **mermaid**.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah guys. Suzume is a mermaid. But don't go on thinking this will be a singing, dancing, Disney styled little mermaid. I have no intentions on that one. Anyways, I got this inspiration from a very short manga series that I might reveal in the next chapter. You can give me your guesses by sending me a PM. Plus, there might be questions like demons can never have mermaids. I will try to explain that a little bit in the next chapter.<strong>

**Anyways, that's it for this chapter guys. I will try to post chapter 13 next week. Please do feel free to review or fire me up a PM if you have any questions. I hope you like it and I will see you all around.**


	13. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - After the Night

**Hey guys! I'm back and I am finally done with my exams. So without further delay, here's chapter 13.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Studio Sunrise or Viz Media.**

* * *

><p>As the new day broke out Kenji was walking back to his village. It was still raining with no sign for it to stop. The last night was probably the worst one in his life. His village burned down and his prey just slipped between his fingers everything was going on wrong. But he didn't care. He knew where they would be heading and he knew when he would be meeting them again. He just needed to be patient.<p>

As he arrived at his now ruined village, a guard appeared in front of him.

"SIR" The guard said as he kneeled down to greet his master.

"Report the damage." Kenji asked.

"The houses are burnt. But no life was taken." The guard replied.

"Good, Anything else?" Kenji asked.

"Hmm, I think there's nothing." The guard replied. "Oh, that's right. There is a monk who seeks an appointment."

"Hmm, a monk you say?" Kenji question.

"Yes sir. I think he mentioned something about being after a half-demon." The guard replied.

"A half-demon you say. Interesting, take me to him." Kenji commanded.

"Yes sir." The guard responded.

* * *

><p>Far away as InuYasha was staring at Suzume, he just had no words to sum it all. He was staring at a mermaid.<p>

"I can only guess. You're freaked out." Suzume said.

"I am. After all I'm standing in front of a mermaid." InuYasha said. "But, why am I not surprised?"

"Maybe it's because of everything that happened since yesterday." Nobu said from a distance.

"Well that figures why the demons were after you. But why is that village lord after you?" InuYasha said.

"I don't know yet. Yesterday was the first time we saw him in person. Last couple of times he only sent out troops. We don't know his real motive yet." Suzume replied.

"Sigh! And now I am involved." InuYasha said.

"I'm sorry you got involved." Suzume said.

"Hey, you don't need to apologize. I am staying here by my choice. If I had to run away, I could have punched you in the face and ran away long ago." InuYasha said.

"HEY, DON'T YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR WOMEN?" Nobu yelled from afar.

"HEY, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME, HUH?" InuYasha asked in a loud voice.

"Well, I do know that I am standing in front of a half-demon who punches women's." Nobu said narrowing his eyes.

InuYasha's anger fueled really badly. How could Nobu think of him like this? He never punched a woman. Hell he never even punched a demon woman he ever encountered in his life. He had some respect for women. Even he had some class. Nobu was an idiot just like himself. Wait. What the hell happened to him? He admitted himself as an idiot? Why would he do that? He never used to prove himself wrong. But anyways, Nobu was an idiot nonetheless.

"Do you really think I am that much of a fool to go around punching women?" InuYasha asked.

"Well, you just said that you would punch Suzume." Nobu said.

InuYasha could only land his face on his palm.

"Now now Nobu, don't start arguing. I'm sure he wouldn't really punch a woman. After all I do really believe he has a woman in his life." Suzume said.

InuYasha froze. He couldn't really say anything. He had nothing to say now either. Suzume was defending him. But it was really making him even more uncomfortable. He really thought Suzume was the mistress of making people submits by making them hear long rants. But here she wasn't yelling. She was just so damn polite.

InuYasha turned around and found Suzume giving him a wide smile.

That smile. It was so creepy for InuYasha that he was really going to die from embarrassment. His heart was rushing. His body froze. He couldn't feel his skin. His body began feeling hot.

The next moment he heard a few giggle from behind. InuYasha turned around as Nobu finally couldn't hold his laughter and began laughing really hard.

InuYasha couldn't hold his sanity. This fool was laughing at his uncomfortability? How dare he? He had no right to laugh at him like that.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?" InuYasha yelled with his fist in the air.

"HA AH HA…. You… your… face … IT'S AS RED YOUR ROBE." Nobu said pointing his hands at the half-demon and laughing even more.

Wait, was he blushing? Was he really red? What was going on? Why was he red? Why was he really blushing? He was so badly confused. He had to have some space for himself.

"So you do have a woman you love." Suzume said.

That's it. He could not handle the embarrassment. These two would eat him up alive. HE had to go immediately.

"I'll be back." InuYasha said.

With these words he ran away into the forest.

"And there he goes off again." Nobu said.

"Did I say something wrong?" Suzume asked.

"Nope, you didn't. I guess he was more shocked by that question than he was by knowing your true identity." Nobu said. "Do you think I should go get him?"

"No let him be alone. He will come back after all." Suzume replied.

"Well, let's hope he doesn't come back panicking just like yesterday." Nobu said.

* * *

><p>A little bit in a distance, InuYasha stopped by the bank of a river not far away from where Nobu and Suzume were.<p>

His heart was beating with nervousness from what happened moments ago.

After calming himself down and getting his sanity back, InuYasha just stood there. He then settled down and rested his chin on his knees as he kept staring at the water. They were right. He had a woman in his life. Not one woman, but two. One of them is already dead and the other is safe in another world. But one thing was sure. Neither of them were with him. There was no Kikyo to console and there was no Kagome to comfort. It was just him all over again.

As these thoughts began coming back to the back of his mind, his heart which was just now fueled with embarrassment, were now filled with sadness. He remembered Kagome. He remembered everyone. He remembered the time not too long ago when they were together. He just wished he would not be that alone.

But then again, Kagome was everything left for him and his friends former friends were on with their own lives. Kagome was everything for him left and his friends were there because of her.

As the rain poured by the clouds high above the sky landed to the earth, InuYasha just stood there. He was completely lost in thought. Now that he remembered, he began wondering. What was going to happen over there at the mountain?

After several moments of staring at the water, Nobu finally showed up.

"Hey!" Nobu spoke up.

"Hey" InuYasha responded.

"Is something wrong?" Nobu asked.

"No, nothing is wrong." InuYasha replied.

"You don't seem very happy now." Nobu pointed out.

InuYasha on the other hand could give no reply. He was lost too much in thoughts.

"You didn't come back for a long time. So I finally came to check if everything was all right." Nobu replied.

"Huh! Yeah, everything is all right. I'll be back in a moment." InuYasha said.

"Okay, but don't take too long." Nobu said.

"Fine, just go." InuYasha responded.

With these words Nobu left the scene and InuYasha was again left all alone. He now wondered what Kagome and the others were up to.

* * *

><p>Back at the village, Miroku and Kohaku were helping the villagers clean up. Miroku for once could not believe that InuYasha was responsible for the destruction. He thought he hated giving humans trouble. But why did he so this?<p>

"Master Monk." A voice spoke up behind him.

Miroku turned around to find a guard.

"Our master has summoned you, please follow me." The guard said.

Miroku didn't ask a question. He simply kept quiet and followed the guard. Kohaku and Kirara noticed this and ran after him.

"Brother, what happened?" Kohaku asked.

"I don't know." Miroku replied.

Then they followed the guard.

After several moments of again staring at the river, InuYasha finally decided to go back. He stood up and began heading back to where the two of them were.

* * *

><p>As InuYasha came back he saw Suzume had turned back to her human self and was sitting on the bank of the river with her legs submerged in water looking at the sky. Nobu on the other hand was sitting under the same tree with his head facing Suzume.<p>

Wait, he is staring at Suzume! What if Suzume finds out that he had been staring at her? Suzume was still off her clothes and Nobu was staring at her. What the hell was he doing? Suzume might kill him.

InuYasha moved behind the tree. The next moment he grabbed Nobu by the back of his collar and immediately pulled him behind the tree. The next moment, he was looking at a shocked Nobuhiro.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?" Nobu asked in a loud voice.

"WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?" InuYasha asked.

"What do you mean?" Nobu asked.

"STARING AT A NAKED WOMAN, THAT'S WHAT I MEANT." InuYasha yelled.

"WHAT? YOU TAKE ME AS A PERVERT?" Nobu asked.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IF YOU WEREN'T LOOKING AT SUZUME?" InuYasha asked.

"Did you look at my eyes?" Nobuhiro asked.

"No, they were covered by your hair." InuYasha replied.

"Good. CAUSE I WAS SLEEPING YOU DUMB HALF WIT." Nobu responded.

"Eh! You mean you weren't looking at Suzume?" InuYasha asked.

Now InuYasha was feeling really stupid.

"Of course not, I have some respect for women, unlike you who would just punch one and move on." Nobu said.

"I said this time and again that I DON'T BEAT UP WOMEN." InuYasha yelled flapping his arms up and down.

"Will you two stop that nonsense over there? It's annoying." A voice spoke up.

Both boys turned around. Their eyes widened at what they were seeing. Just a few moments ago, they were blaming each other for being a halfwit. But then that argument immediately became irrelevant. Now they both lost half of their wit.

Both in front of their eyes stood Suzume who had not yet wore her clothes. This caused both of them to give loud scream.

InuYasha immediately jumped on his feet, turned around. Nobuhiro on the other hand fell backwards as blood began gushing out of his nose. His head fell to the ground with his legs sticking up in the air.

"Are you two okay?" Suzume asked.

"GET SOME CLOTHES ON." Nobu yelled.

* * *

><p>Back at the ruined village, Miroku was being summoned by Kenji. He was walking with Kohaku and Kirara who was sitting on Kohaku's shoulders.<p>

"Brother, what do you think we should do? What if he suspects us?" Kohaku asked.

"Let me do the talking. You just sit quiet." Miroku replied.

Kohaku nodded in silence as they approached the place where Miroku was being summoned. Under the tree, Kenji was being treated with bandages as he noticed the trio.

"Oh! Master Monk. I have been anticipating your presence." Kenji greeted. "Please make yourself comfortable."

Both Miroku and Kohaku settled down. Kirara got off from Kohaku's shoulders and positioned herself in Kohaku's lap.

"Isn't the rain very calming master monk? It just feels so soothing to the ears." Kenji said.

"It depends on a person's personal preference, my lord. People mostly take rain as severely depressing." Miroku replied.

"Ahh! Yes they do. But rain has a good charm of its own and I believe people seem to overlook that." Keji said.

Kenji gave a clap and then every servant from the area moved away. Then everyone stayed in silence. Kohaku on the other hand began stroking Kirara.

"You guards informed me that I am being summoned by the lord of this village. Kindly, may I know the reason?" Miroku asked.

"Ah, yes. It seems you are quite interested in a particular half-demon I hear." Kenji said.

"I have no interest. I am only here to fulfill the task given by my master." Miroku replied.

"Oh! And what that may be?" Kenji asked.

"That is to bring him back alive." Miroku replied.

"And may I know why that may be?" Kenji asked.

"Only my master knows. I am only his humble student." Miroku replied.

"I see. After all it's a student's job to fulfill his master's wishes, isn't it?" Kenji asked.

"It is indeed my lord. It is indeed." Miroku replied.

"However, I apologize to say this to you. But please, he is our target now." Kenji said.

"Huh!" Miroku said in shock.

"No" Kohaku said in his mind as he became shocked.

"Yes, he has done enough damage that we are not going to let him escape." Kenji reiterated.

"My apologies sir, but it is my task to retrieve him." Miroku replied.

"I can understand that. But he also has two criminals as his allies." Kenji said.

Miroku was surprised. Did he just speak the word 'allies'?

"Please don't get in our way. Or else we might have to take inappropriate actions against you." Kenji said.

Miroku was stunted by the recent discovery. Kohaku on the other hand was trying hard to contain his anger.

"It seems we have no other choice. We thank you for the hospitality your village provided." Miroku said as all of them stood up. "But please, we shall now ask for our leave."

"Please, it was our pleasure doing it. We're sorry for any interruptions we may have caused you." Kenji said.

"Please I can understand." Miroku said. "No if you excuse us, we shall be returning now."

Both Miroku and Kohaku turned around and were about to leave.

"Before you go master monk, I have a question." Kenji said.

"Yes please." Miroku responded.

"What past connection do you have with the half-demon?" Kenji asked.

"All I say is I have a hard past with him." Miroku replied.

With these words, Miroku and Kohaku left. Kenji just stood there and observed the two moving aay from the scene. Then at that very moment a guard appeared from behind.

"Master, don't you think we should have allowed him to capture the half-demon? I mean, he is of no use to us." The guard asked.

"Keeping him with us is meaningless. He shall only be an obstruction in our path." Kenji replied. "After all, my suspicions were true."

"I lost you there sire." The guard said.

"A couple of moons ago, I heard the news that the famed Shikon Jewel was destroyed by the group consisting of three humans, one half-demon and two demons." Kenji said.

"What do you mean sire?" The guard asked.

"It means he is one of the three human among that band and the red robed human that attacked yesterday was also that half-demon. In short, he is that half-demon's friend and he is looking for him." Kenji said.

The guard was speechless. He couldn't say anything more.

"I thought catching that woman would be a walk on the ice. But it seems things have gotten even more complicated." Kenji commanded. "After all, we are dealing with the half-demon who destroyed the Shikon Jewel. Send someone to steer that monk away from our path. It's best we try to split those two away."

"Yes, sire." The guard said.

With these words the guard ran off.

* * *

><p>Down at the village, Miroku and Kohaku were packing up.<p>

"Brother, why did you agree to his clause?" Kohaku asked.

"I did not agree. We are taking another route, that's all." Miroku said.

"But he might kill him brother." Kohaku said.

"I know, but we cannot stay here as well Kohaku. He has already figured out that we are InuYasha's friends." Miroku said. "Besides, I am sure InuYasha will not give up without a fight. His decisions may have been rash but he has always triumphed in the end."

At that moment, Kirara gave a mew.

"See, even Kirara agrees." Miroku said with a big smile.

"Okay, then." Kohaku said with a smile as he moved forward and began stroking the cat.

"But I am surprised." Miroku spoke up.

"Eh!" Kohaku responded.

"InuYasha was never good at making friends. He always had bad attitude with people. But how come he has made some?" Miroku wondered.

* * *

><p>As Miroku wondered, InuYasha on the other hand was waiting with Nobu for Suzume to finish wearing her clothes.<p>

"Heh! I thought Suzume would yell at us for looking at her naked. But instead she just came nude right in front of us." InuYasha said.

"That's how mermaids are." Nobu said. "I have to tell me how much it was a nightmare to get her to wear clothes."

"Hmm.. How much?" InuYasha asked.

"Don't even ask." Nobu replied.

"So wait, if somebody makes sexual remarks about her, then she would not understand?" InuYasha asked.

"Yep, in terms of that, she is quiet dumb." Nobu replied.

"Well, at least that monk is not here." InuYasha said.

"A monk?" Nobu said in a questioning manner.

"When I was travelling, we had a monk as a companion, and boy was that bozo a perv." InuYasha said.

"A perv monk? That's unheard of." Nobu said.

"Trust me. He used to ask every woman to bear his child. I don't know about other women but I know one woman who used to be his victim. Her reaction would be a palm to the face." InuYasha said. "Trust me, you don't want him around at this moment. If he had been right here at that moment he would just stare, hell even roam Suzume's body."

"That's one perv monk I am hearing. Glad she has got a really good lover here. If anyone even stares at her, I know his day in hell would be better than here." Nobu said.

"So you really can't handle naked womens, huh." InuYasha said.

"Shut up!" Nobu said.

"Heh. It's not just you fool." InuYasha said.

"What do you mean?" Nobu asked.

"Well, for the most part. I was always labeled as a pervert by my companions." InuYasha replied.

"Heh! Why? Cause you were snooping around?" Nobu asked.

"Nope. Whenever we came across a hot spring, sigh! There used to be one moment or the other where the girls just begin screaming or yelling. You run towards them thinking they are in danger only to know the fact that the danger was some stupid monkey or some dumb hobo sneaking around. You turn around and you realize you have just made a pervert out of yourself. Sigh!" InuYasha said.

"Feh! Girls are strange beings." Nobu said.

Just at that moment Suzume finished wearing clothes and approached the two boys.

"Well, I am done." Suzume said. "And I caught a few fishes while we were still in the water."

"Good, cause we are leaving. I want some of my sanity to return by walking. After all it's been a crazy two days for me." InuYasha said.

"I can understand." Suzume said. "I hope I didn't freak you out."

"Well to be honest Suzume, I was more freaked out by those blue eyes more than by your body." InuYasha said.

Nobu could only give a chuckle, while a big question hung above Suzume's head. They began to continue their journey.

"Hey!" Nobu said called InuYasha.

"What is it?" InuYasha asked.

"If you just want to talk, I am here." Nobu said.

InuYasha was surprised. What the hell did he just hear? Was he deaf? For the first time in his life a stranger was opening up to him. Guess he needed to understand himself, before understanding others. Right now he still didn't know the clear reason why Kenji and everybody else were after a mermaid. The two know the answer, he was sure of it. But he didn't want to rush to conclusion. He needed to get to the bottom of this slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>After a hard long night, InuYasha now moves ahead. What will the journey prove for him next? What new path will Miroku take?<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>So that's it for this chapter guys. I know this chapter is not as good as previous ones. I had a hard time just giving my exams, it's just simply frustrating. My head was simply hung by all the equations, derivations, lab preparations and chemical reactions. But anyways, I am back. Since I have more time, I will soon start writing NEO.<br>**

**As a side note, I also have a Twitter account. You can follow me ' extremeracer19'.  
><strong>

**Anyways, that's it for this chapter guys. Please do leave reviews. I would highly appreciate them. So I hope liked it and I will see you all around.**


	14. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Lonely School Day

**Hey Guys! Here's chapter 14 as usual. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Studio Sunrise and Viz Media.**

* * *

><p>"Uhm, Miss Higurashi." A voice spoke up. "HIGURASHI!"<p>

Kagome jumped up from her seat. She had been day dreaming in the middle of the class. But then she had been caught by her teacher who was teaching in the class and that teacher was no other than their class teacher or Physics teacher or how students like to call him 'Admiral Douchebag'. She was dreaming. Why? Even she didn't know. But for some reason, she was day dreaming.

"Now may I ask you if you were paying attention to the Newton's Law of Sound Propagation and its correction?" AD asked.

Kagome could not give any answers. She was growing red every moment. She really didn't know the answer. That's because she was not paying attention and that's why AD was asking her these question.

"Now Miss Higurashi, I believe you weren't paying attention in class." The teacher spoke up.

"I'm sorry sensei." Kagome said.

For some reason, the whole class erupted into laughter. Why were they laughing? That's because Kagome couldn't give a proper answer. But did they really need to laugh? Did they not got anything else to laugh at? Those bastards are pretty worthless indeed.

"Man, AD's gonna yell. This is going to be good." She heard one of them say.

"Isn't that girl who keeps on daydreaming?" She heard another one say.

"Sigh! SILENCE! " The teacher requested. "Miss Higurashi, we need to talk. Please meet me at my office after school."

What? The teacher called her to the office. Was she in trouble? Of course, she would be. She was not paying attention in class. Which teacher wouldn't actually put their student in trouble for not paying attention in class?

"Yes, sensei." Kagome replied.

"I hope you will." The teacher said "However, Miss Higurashi let me remind you that you are in high school. You are no longer a girl and therefore every choice you make here has long term consequences."

With these words, AD went back to class. Kagome was left ashamed. Was she that hopeless? Maybe she was. After all she got to this school through waiting list. The students who were considered after many students did not fill in their application.

At that moment, she heard a whisper. Someone was calling her. Kagome turned around to see a girl looking at her. She then came a little close.

"Good Luck, Higurashi." She said.

What did she mean good luck? How dare she was trying to mock her? Nobody has the right's to make jokes. They may offend people. But of course, they didn't care because it's fun to mock other people right?

Kagome's anger blew through the roof. She simply wanted to yell at her. Grab her hair in bunches and throw her out of the window. For once she just wanted to make her demon food at the feudal world. She just wished for this to all be over.

High school is hell. The students always used to say that. It was absolutely true. There is no hell in any world other than high school. She had been to real hell. But this is an even worse hell.

With a long sigh, Kagome this time paid some good attention.

* * *

><p>After almost half a day of constant mocking from the worthless kids, it was finally lunch time. But Kagome was just too frustrated to face anybody that day. There was just too much going on her head. From constant mocking and not knowing the reason AD called her later in the day. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be pretty.<p>

With a lot of frustration in her head, Kagome took her lunch box and took the path where students or teachers rarely came. The taken path then led her towards a set of stairways. She followed it upwards until she reached the terrace.

The terrace was pretty empty. This would be the place where students would come just for the sake of having some time alone for themselves. While many other students would actually go elsewhere and have their lunch, Kagome would come here and have hers. After all, who would come here?

Kagome looked around and in fact no one was here. She settled down near the entrance door and opened her lunch box.

She wondered what her three friends Eri, Yuka and Ayumi were doing. Kagome could clearly remember the day they came to the school to fill out their application. At the time, she was pretty hopeless about reaching high school. That was the time her friends actually encouraged her, well… more like scared her even more. But nonetheless they did say to her that they needed to get into the same high school. So that's more like encouraging. Right?

But why would they care. They were after all in a higher section than hers. They were probably getting good teachers and were probably studying well. If anything else, they were probably going around talking about cute boys and pretty much flirting around with them. But who knows? By now they may even had made some boyfriend and probably were set. Hell, she could even hear them yelling the loud and ear piercing KAWAII in her head.

Kagome just became another brick in the wall. Noticed by nobody, cared by none.

She looked at her lunchbox. If anything else, at least her mom understood what she was going though and the good food she puts out every time in her lunch box was proof enough. Good thing she wasn't missing her lunch boxes lately, because now there was no one to deliver them here to her school.

That's right. InuYasha was no longer going to be there to deliver her lunch to school if she missed it. A small part of her says **thank god that idiot won't eat my lunch without my knowledge**. But the rest of her was heartbroken due to the fact that there would **no idiot to share her lunch if she wanted to**.

With nothing left to do, she picked up her chopsticks, grabbed some rice, popped them in her mouth and chewed them slowly. She then looked at the terrace which was all empty. At that moment, she asked herself one question. Is this the life she was dying to live? A live with no friends. A life where she is all by herself. But why was she asking herself? She chose this life, didn't she? So why was she complaining? She should be happy that at least she got it.

"InuYasha, guess you're not the loser here as well." Kagome said.

With these words she continued her lunch. At that moment she heard a footstep coming from the door beside her. She turned around as a girl stepped out from the door. She was also holding a lunch box in her hand.

Why was she here? That was one question Kagome wanted to ask her. But duh! She was carrying lunch on her hand. So that itself indicates that she is here to have her lunch. Why was that so hard to figure?

"Well, excuse me if I'm disturbing you." The girl said.

"No it's okay. You can sit here if you want to." Kagome said.

"No it looks like you really wanted to be alone. That's why you are here. Anyways, I will leave you alone." The girl said.

"It's okay. I was just frustrated and wanted to clear my head." Kagome said.

"But why are you alone here then?" The girl asked. "You could have had your lunch in the class."

"I didn't wanted to stay in class. There are just too students people laughing." Kagome replied.

"Oh! I remember you were being called by the Admiral to his office later in the day today." The girl said.

"Huh! How did you know?" Kagome asked. "Are we in the same class?"

"Well, I guess you didn't notice me then." The girl said.

"So, let me guess. You're gonna laugh at me." Kagome said.

"No, I am not. I know what is right and wrong. So I am not going to laugh at you." The girl said. "So, why are you alone up here?"

"Well, to be honest. I am always alone ever since I joined high school." Kagome replied.

"What happened to your friends? The last time I remember, you came here to apply for this college with your friends." The girl asked.

"Well, they are in the higher class you know. They got in pretty easily while I got lucky." Kagome replied. "So why are you up here?"

"Well, I am waiting for someone." The girl replied.

"Let me guess, your boyfriend." Kagome replied.

"People have said that. Actually what is he to me or what I may be to him, I don't know. We have been together since we were kids." The girl said.

"I see." Kagome replied.

"Oh!" The girl said.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"I just realized. I really haven't talked to anybody that much." The girl replied. "Hey, you know? Let's be friends."

"Huh! What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Well, you don't have friends here. I don't really talk to any girls here because they don't interest me and even if you don't talk to me, I am fine with that, we will still be friends here." The girl suggested.

"Hmm! I really don't know." Kagome hesitated.

"Come on, it will be fine." The girl urged.

"Well, ok then." Kagome agreed.

"Cool. Okay, let's start by names." The girls said. "What is your name?"

"My name is Kagome Higurashi." Kagome replied. "So what is yours?"

"My name is …" The girl was about to say her name.

Then a voice came behind her.

"Hey, Mina. What are you doing over there?" The voice spoke.

"Damn it Takashi, you just blew my introduction." The girl said.

"Oh! Am I disturbing something? I'd better go then." The boy said.

"Oh! Wait, you're not disturbing anything. You can stay." The girl said.

The girl then turned her focus towards Kagome.

"Anyways, hi my name is Minatsuki Satonaka." The girl introduced herself. "You can call me Mina."

"Well, nice to meet you Mina." Kagome said.

"And I am Takashi Sakaguchi." The boy introduced himself. "You're Kagome Higurashi right?"

"How did you know?" Kagome asked.

"I only heard from a few dudes talking about your name. Anyways, ignore them." The boy said.

They ate their lunch and conversed. For once Kagome actually did enjoy their company. At least unlike others, they did not mock her.

* * *

><p>As they finished their lunch, the bell rang indicating that the lunch was over. The three packed up their lunch boxes and headed back to their classes.<p>

The day soon went by for Kagome. The last class of the day was over and everybody went off to their respective clubs before they would retire to their homes. But Kagome on the other hand hadn't joined any club activities. She just didn't know what to join.

However, if anything else she did get to get over the work with AD. She wondered what that teacher would ask her. Did he call her just to yell at her? The day was already going bad and she didn't want to get into more of that. She just wished that everything would just go on fine.

She went through the hallway and stood in front of AD's office. With little courage left in her heart, she knocked on the door.

"Come in." She heard from inside.

Taking the cue, she opened the door and entered the office. There on the other side of the desk, AD was sitting. He was going through several papers. He finally raised his head up and noticed the girl in front of him.

"Ahh! Miss Higurashi, I didn't expect you to be here this soon." AD said. "Are you not joining any clubs?"

"No, sensei." Kagome replied.

"Well you should. You must do something of your interest while you are waiting for the school to end." AD suggested.

"My apologies sensei, but I have no interest in anything." Kagome gave her answer.

"Don't tell me that. Everybody has some interest in their life. They just have to realize what that is." AD replied.

"My apologies for being rude sensei, but may I know why did you call me?" Kagome asked.

"Well, miss Higurashi. I have been doing a little research very recently regarding your past academic performances. And I am quite surprised to find the results." AD said.

Kagome couldn't say anything. This teacher actually did full research on her history? Why did he do that? Did she do something really horrible wrong? She really hasn't done anything.

"If you were wondering what did I find, then let me enlighten you. First I found extensive absence record." AD said. "Have you got anything to say for that?"

"I was sick." Kagome replied.

"Considered. However, here is the thing where I find it funny. The reasons have turned out be diseases like Diabetes." AD said.

Kagome's uneasiness was starting to be seen. Those reasons, why did grandpa have to give those reasons? Couldn't he give some simpler reasons? Why did he have to go with diabetes? Everybody knows those reasons are not true.

"Also, I found out that for the most part you were a waitlisted student, which is proved by your position. And finally I also heard that you missed the entrance ceremony. " AD asked.

Kagome froze. What was she going to say now? This teacher was asking her serious questions. But why would he do that? This teacher now was really freaking her out. What reason was she going to give AD now? Was this teacher going to be the reason why she would be expelled from the school? How was she going to explain that she was in the feudal world fighting demons? That the responsibility of Shikon jewel kept her away from studies. What was she going to say? She just wished that not to be true. She just wished so badly.

"I can easily tell by your uneasiness that those are probably lies. Isn't that right, Miss Higurashi?" AD asked.

That's it she would now be expelled.

"However, Miss Higurashi before I ask you a question, I would like you to know that I am quite surprised." AD said.

What? What did he mean by surprised? But then again till now AD hasn't yelled at her. IF he didn't yell at her means he called for other reason! What would that be then? For once Kagome herself was surprised.

"I believe you are surprised yourself." AD said.

Kagome could give no reply. She just stood there with her head hung down.

"So let me ask you this question Miss Higurashi. Why is your absence record incredibly high?" AD asked.

"It was responsibility sensei." Kagome replied.

"Excuse me?" AS asked again.

"It was responsibility. I cannot tell you everything because everything I tell you is unbelievable. But I can tell you this that I was suddenly given the responsibility and there was always someone who pulled me into all that. It didn't allow me to live a normal life and it didn't allow him either. But it was my fault, because one event that caused me to be given a responsibility happed because of me. Hence, I had to fulfill that, so that everyone whom I care and who cares about me can live with peace in their heart." Kagome said.

Now she was really feeling stupid. Did she think the AD would believe any of those words? He would just think that it was just some dumb excuse to escape danger. She wasn't going to be excused, or would she?

"For once you might be thinking that I am going to send a letter to the principle to have you expelled. But however I am not going to do that. And whatever you are thinking is totally untrue. At cases like this, these stories are really untrue. However, I believe your story miss Higurashi." Ad said.

Kagome's head jerked up in surprise.

"Yes, miss Higurashi. I believe it. You can heave a sigh of relief. That's all I needed to know." AD said. "You may go now."

"But sensei…" Kagome tried to say something.

"You will get your complete reason soon, Kagome." AD said. "Now please go."

Kagome was about go out.

"And Kagome." AD called.

Kagome turned around.

"Let me remind you that you are in high school. Everything that will happen to you is going to be made fun of. So be strong and fight it." AD said.

With a great relief flowing in her heart, Kagome bowed down to her teacher and went towards the door. As soon as she stepped outside, she heaved a sigh of relief as the final bell of the day rang. She was really safe. But what reason did he call her again? Just to know why I had such a long absence record? But why?

* * *

><p>She went back to her class and picked up her remaining books and went towards the locker room. However, she was making her way through. At that moment she crashed with another girl who was running across the hallway with a lot of books in her hand.<p>

"Oh! I'm sorry, please let me get that." Kagome said.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry. I will just pick up my books and run." The girl said as she hesitantly picked all her books.

"Hurry, for what?" Kagome asked.

"Please don't be silly, I can't spend another time just waiting. I need to study. So please, gotta go." The girl said as she ran off.

"What a weird girl." Kagome said.

"Surprised?" A voice asked her.

"Huh! Oh Mina." Kagome said.

"That's Hinata. She is known as the bookworm of our school." Mina said.

"That figures." Kagome said.

"Don't worry she's just crazy." Mina said.

"Which class is she?" Kagome asked.

"Oh! She's one section higher than ours." Mina replied.

"That's strange. She studies that hard and she is just one section higher! I really don't get this world." Kagome said.

"So you're going home?" Mina asked.

"Yep, I am." Kagome replied.

"Well, you haven't picked up your books yet." Mina pointed out.

"Oh!" Kagome realized as she began picking up her books.

"Here, let me help you." Mina said as she picked them up.

"Thanks" Kagome said.

"It's nothing." Mina said.

Both of them went to the locker room and began packing their bags.

"So, you haven't entered any clubs?" Mina asked.

"No, there's nothing interesting for me. Which club are you joining?" Kagome asked.

"Archery club." Mina replied.

"Oh, I see." Kagome said.

"You know you should join our club. There are not a lot of people in it." Mina suggested.

"Thanks, I will look out for it." Kagome replied.

"I will be waiting." Mina said.

"So, you're waiting for Takashi?" Kagome asked.

"Yep, I am." Mina replied. "Hey, do you have a cellphone? Cause I might need your number."

"Sure here you go." Kagome said.

Both of them shared their numbers and finally bid farewell to each other. Kagome came out of the school and headed back to the train station where she grabbed a ticket and hopped on.

As the train moved, Kagome just wondered. If being lonely was this bad, then how worse did InuYasha face when everybody ignored him.

* * *

><p><strong>Kagome's another day has yet again ended. But this is only the end of the countless days of her life, for another day is yet to come.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><strong>I was thinking. After watching 'Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood', 'Soul Eater', 'Space Dandy' and 'Gosick', a question raised in my head. What would happen if Studio BONES actually animated the portion belonging to the Final Act instead of Studio Sunrise. This question rose in my head because of how every show is so well handled by BONES. For me it seemed Sunrise gives more focus to original shows(which is good) rather that manga adaptations.<strong>**

****So how was the chapter guys.** Here, I gave this whole chapter to Kagome and I introduced more original characters to her side. I do ho**pe the** characters were good. Please do let me know in the review if the chapter was good or not. I will try to post the next chapter next week as usual and also another chapter for NEO this week. If you have any questions, please do fire me up a PM. I will try to answer them.******

******So that's it for this chapter guys. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you all around.******


	15. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Life After That

**Hey there guys. Here's chapter 15 like I promised. Sorry for the late update though. I hope you enjoy this.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Studio Sunrise or Viz Media.**

* * *

><p>"Lady Sango." Rin called.<p>

Sango then turned around to look at the girl who called her.

"What is it Rin?" Sango asked.

"These look so yellow." Rin replied.

With these words she showed Sango a few plants that were pretty much yellow. Sango then looked at Rin's face. She looked disappointed. But why wouldn't she? After all she did work hard to get them planted. One bad plant can put many off especially if they are hard workers.

"It looks like they wilted pretty badly." Sango said.

With these words Sango realized that the girl was now giving an extremely sad. To make the girl feel better, she kneeled down and put her hand on the little girls head.

"Don't be sad. You still managed to make others turn out good." Sango said.

"But these turned yellow. So I failed. I worked so hard on them, and I failed." Rin said.

"Well try to improve them next time. There's always second time." Sango suggested.

"Okay." Rin said with a drop in her voice.

Sango could clearly hear the dissatisfaction in her voice. Something was clearly bugging her.

"Why are you so sad?" Sango asked.

"I just wanted all of them to grow well." Rin replied.

"Well, nothing can be perfect first time." Sango said. "Why are you going for perfect so badly?"

"Well, I really wanted to show them to lord Sesshomaru. I really didn't want to show them bad." Rin replied.

"Then, show them when they are good. There's no need to show them immediately." Sango suggested.

"Well, okay." Rin replied.

"We'll show them to lady Kaede. Maybe she will tell know what happened to them. After that maybe you can prevent them from happening again." Sango said.

"Really!" Rin gleamed.

Sango only gave a nod. She could clearly see the girl's face light up with excitement. She knew the girl well. She cared for her lord and so did her lord cared for her. There was no question about that. If there's one person Sesshomaru would care for, it would be Rin herself.

With no other words to express her joy, Rin ran off down towards the village with the wilted herbs she was carrying.

Sango on the other hand could only give a soft smile at the joy of the little girl and the trail of cheeriness she was leaving wherever she went. With a small chuckle and

Life had been pretty dull for Sango ever since the boys left the village. There wasn't a single person in the village she could talk to. It's not that she wouldn't talk to anybody, but there was nobody she wanted to talk to in a more intimate level. Like how she would talk to Kagome. There just weren't any women in the village that had been through hell like her. All of them had either more peaceful lives or little to no problems face in their lives.

But not Sango. She had been through everything that a normal woman would have never been able to. In fact if anybody had gone through all that, then they would wish, no, they would have just killed themselves in an instant. And even Sango tried that once.

There have been time and again situations where she would just try to get herself killed. Seeing her own father gets slaughtered by her own brother to situations where she just wanted to kill her by her own hands and then by those same hands kill herself. After all that, who wouldn't want to have a peaceful life? And in fact that was what Sango was now living.

She was having a peaceful life where she was just staying at one place and not after an evil half-demon who had her brother under his control.

After walking slowly, Sango finally returned back to the village. Everything was indeed peaceful. Farmers were working on their fields, children were playing around, and women were on their daily chores. She paused for a moment, just stood there and just kept watching. All that time she never realized how the whole village had suddenly changed so much ever since Naraku died. The grounds were much greener and much moister compared to how they were so eroded back in the day. Well, why wouldn't they be? After all it had been raining much more since that day. It was only a coincidence that the current weather was sunny.

Just then, a pair of larks flew right from the front of Sango's eyes. The pair flew right into the sky. Then they started hovering around each other continuously. At that moment Sango realized. Those Larks, they were playing with each other. They were not playing around for nothing. Those larks were pairs. They were in love with each other.

Sango suddenly remembered what she was missing. Back before the journey for the Shikon jewel even began, she promised that she would take revenge on Naraku, take back her brother and part ways with her friends. But who knew that during a long journey like that would have so much effect on everything. How you could grow so close with your group.

There was one person in the group which she missed so much. He had annoyed her a lot in the past, but that's why she loved him so much. Coincidentally every time they would be in battle, those two would be together and that was the time they grew closer and closer. Of course, there was also a hand of Kagome in their relationship. That's why they came closer.

"Well, you have been standing here for an awfully long time." A voice spoke up.

Sango turned around to find a woman probably in her late thirty's.

"Oh, I apologize if it was in the way." Sango said.

"Well you do look lost." The old woman said.

"Well, maybe perhaps." Sango said.

"Are you remembering someone?" The woman asked.

Sango only gave a nod while her eyes were gazing the sky.

"Well, it has been a long time hasn't it?" The woman asked.

"It really has. It's strange how time flies so fast. It just feels like yesterday of how I was crying thinking my brother was dead for good. Now everyone's gone their own separate ways." Sango said.

"That's the miracle of time, Sango." The woman said.

"Wait, how did you know my name?" Sango asked in a surprised manner.

"Well isn't it obvious? You and your friends are well known over here. After saving everyone in this village, everyone should be able to know you by now." The woman replied.

Sango lightly knocked her head with her fist for not thinking straight. Of course, she was right. After fighting Naraku like that, anybody would know them.

"Well, I do hope those boys return in time." The woman said.

"Oh, don't worry. Miroku and Kohaku will come back." Sango said.

"Did you forget someone?" The woman said.

"You mean InuYasha?" Sango asked.

The woman gave a nod.

"You know, this village is not complete without him. After all, this village does need to repay him for everything he has done for it." The woman said.

"I don't know. InuYasha ran away. We couldn't stop him. Miroku and Kohaku have gone to bring him back. But I doubt they will be able to successfully bring him back." Sango said.

"Now why would he do that? I wonder." The woman said.

"It's complicated. InuYasha has lost everything he had. There is nothing left for him to come back here for except memories." Sango said.

"Ahh! I see. It was hard for me to believe that especially since I have heard so many tales about him destroying our village and being the murderer of lady Kikyo. But in the end, it was just one man's heart and one evil half-demon's trick that made us see that boy as a monster." The woman said.

"Sigh! He is an idiot. But he wouldn't hurt a human as far as I can tell." Sango said.

"Well, maybe this village does need to see in a different light." The woman said. "And may I know when will master monk return?"

"I don't know. That will depend on InuYasha. If he is willing to come back, then they will return soon." Sango replied.

"Well, patience is a virtue my dear. They will come back soon." The woman said.

"Well, thanks you for saying that." Sango said.

"Don't thank me. After all, master monk and you, the two of you are still yet to be married. Am I not right?" The woman asked.

At that moment Sango flinched a little and began to turn red. She turned around and kept her hand on her cheeks. Why did she have to ask her that question?

The woman on the other hand gave a soft smile looking at the woman blush. She knew the experience of a woman marrying a man.

"Well, have a nice day. The work isn't going to be done by itself isn't it?" The woman said.

With these words, the woman went off. Sango on the other hand couldn't even move. She was so red that she was stuck in one position.

It was a pretty normal day for Sango. There was no crazy army men coming in villages or some wild demons attacking. Everything was indeed peaceful.

After getting her control back, Sango then went deeper into the village. It was pretty much dark when she reached Kaede's hut.

At that moment she looked at the sunset, then she gave a deep sigh and went inside the hut.

"You're back. You took a long time to come back child." Kaede said.

"I just met one of the woman in the village. I just ended up talking to her." Sango said.

"I see. That's pretty strange." Kaede said.

"Why is it so strange?" Sango asked.

"Isn't it strange? You really haven't talked to anybody since they left." Kaede said.

With these words Kaede kept some herbs on a vessel and began crushing them. Sango on the other hand kept her basket on one side and then settled down near the fireplace.

Kaede saw noticed the sadness that Sango held. She then finished crushing the herbs and put them in a small vessel. Then she stood up and settled herself near the firewood.

"Will you please, start the fire Sango? These old hands are pretty much wearing off." Kaede said.

"Oh sure, lady Kaede." Sango said.

Sango then stood up and went to a small area where chopped firewood was kept. She then put them in the small furnace that was in the middle of the hut. Then she took a stick and started rubbing them on the firewood. Soon a small fire was made. Immediately, Sango began blowing until a good nice fire was made.

"It's all done, lady Kaede." Sango said.

"Sango." Kaede called.

Sango looked up.

"Yes, lady Kaede?" Sango asked.

"Why are so sad child?" Kaede asked.

Sango couldn't say anything. She just stood there and kept quiet. She really couldn't say anything.

"Staying quite isn't going to get you anywhere child." Kaede said.

"I really don't know, lady Kaede." Sango said.

"Are you sure? You miss your brother and Miroku." Kaede said.

"Maybe." Sango said.

"Stupid, it's written all over your face. You really do miss them." Kaede said.

"Sigh! I really want them to return soon. I know it's going to take some time but I just want that day to badly come." Sango said.

"They will come, child. They will soon come." Kaede said.

"I hope so." Sango said.

"Lady Kaede." A voice came from outside.

Both of them turned towards the door. A few moments later Rin appeared at the doorstep. She was carrying a large bag full of vegetables and also some fish.

"Ah Rin. Have you brought back the things that I told you to get?" Kaede asked.

"Yes, the fisherman said that they caught more fish this time so they gave some extra this time." Rin said.

"Well that's strange. This morning Fumio came by to drop some fruits. He said they grew pretty well and in large numbers." Kaede said.

"I see. Strange considering how fast everything has become so normal." Sango said.

"It is strange indeed. Last year the villagers couldn't even grow half of the crops of what they produced this year." Kaede said. "Things have really changed since the jewel got destroyed."

"I really didn't expect the lands to become this green this early." Sango said.

Rin who settled down the things she was carrying and moved near the fireplace. Kaede on the other hand stood up and kept some water on a small pot.

"As far as I have heard eroded grounds like those take years to get fertile and some lands never become fertile once they are eroded." Sango said.

Kaede came back with the pot and she then put it over fire. She then settled down near the fireplace.

"Is it some sort of magic?" Rin asked.

Sango gave a small laugh.

"Of course not Rin. At least that's not what I think it is." Sango said.

"Well we could consider that theory. After all, this village has been in the most peaceful state after Naraku's death. In my 50 years I have never felt such peace in the village." Kaede said.

"Hmm! So does this mean that Naraku might have cursed this village for the past 50 years?" Sango asked.

"Maybe, after all this village is where Naraku was born from the jealousy and hatred of the bandit Onigumo." Kaede said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. After all a person if a person can have hatred against due to painful memories someone caused then it is possible that person can also have hatred against the place where all the painful memories happened." Sango said.

"I guess so." Kaede said.

"But how come there is so much greenery in such a short amount of time? Even that takes a lot of time to grow don't they." Sango wondered.

"I really don't know. Maybe Kagome did leave some blessing before she went back." Kaede said. "After all, every one of us underestimated her power. "

Soon the water inside began bubbling.

"Ahh! I think it is ready then." Kaede said. "We'll have some tea first then we will start preparing tonight's supper."

"I'll cut the vegetables in the meantime." Sango said.

She then stood up and went to the corner where the vegetables were kept. She then took it to another corner, picked up a knife and began cutting them to pieces.

"Lady Kaede, Naraku was born here?" Rin was somewhat surprised.

"Well, yes child. He was born here." Kaede answered.

"Could you please tell me lady Kaede?" Rin requested.

Kaede could give a smile. She then picked up the vessel out from the fireplace and began pouring tea onto cups.

"Well, that is for another time child. Right now we need to get the dinner ready." Kaede said.

"Well, ok." Rin said with a little drop in her voice.

Sango noticed the sadness. She could see that Rin really wanted to hear the story of Naraku.

"Rin" Sango called.

"Yes lady Sango?" Rin asked.

"Wash these vegetables for me will you?" Sango asked. "And I may tell you the story of Naraku."

"You will!" Rin suddenly lighted up.

Sango only gave a nod. Rin without speaking picked up the basket full of vegetables and went outside to wash them. It was still dusk so there would be no harm out at the moment.

That night after having their supper, Rin and Sango went outside to take a walk. They stood up in a small where Sango often used to loaf with her friends when they were together.

At that moment Sango told Rin the story of Naraku. Rin on the other hand listened with great interest. It was something new to her. After all, she really hadn't been involved with the Naraku thing as much as Sango had. But that didn't mean she wasn't involved at all. After all it was her master that rescued her from Naraku when she was kept captive inside his body.

Soon, Sango ended her story.

"Well, that's it for his story. It's getting pretty late so I think we should head inside now." Sango said.

"OK" Rin said.

Sango dropped down from the fence and was about to get inside.

"Lady Sango."Rin called.

"Yes Rin." Sango responded.

"Will you tell me master InuYasha's story next time?" Rin asked.

"Sure but for now let's get inside. It's getting late." Sango said.

"OK" Rin said.

She then hopped her way in with great merriness.

Before Sango was about to head inside, she looked at the sky one more time.

"Sigh! I hope everything ends well." Sango said to herself.

With these words, Sango went inside to end her day.

* * *

><p>A few days later somewhere in an open road, InuYasha and his two companions were walking down a lane.<p>

"It has been some time hasn't it?" Nobu asked.

"Has been what?" InuYasha asked.

"Since, we had to face Kenji." Nobu replied.

"Yeah, right. That night was one my worst nights of my life." InuYasha replied.

"Cheer up. You don't have to relive that night anymore." Suzume said.

"Keh! You want me to live that night? If so, then my answer will be a hell no." InuYasha said as he put his hands behind his head.

"Well, let's hope that fool does not follow us." Nobu said.

"Heh! Next time he shoes up, I will let him eat my Tessaiga." InuYasha said.

"I thought you never killed any humans." Suzume said.

"Who said I was going to kill him? I am just gonna bust his butt until he's unable stand up." InuYasha said.

"Well, let's hope this time it isn't all talk and no work." Nobu said.

"Heh! Just wait and see." InuYasha said.

Soon, they arrived near a village.

"Hmm! Now where are we?" InuYasha asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, how was it guys? I really did hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the late update though. I wanted to dedicate a chapter to Sango and it turned out that it was a lot much more harder to write her chapter since I did not have any material planned for her part. Not that I haven't planned since I am going to give her a full storyline of her own but that probably won't come until third arc. Right now I am not even half done with the first arc since there are a lot of questions lingering. On top of that I got my first website project in my office and it was a nightmare. I am an intern in webpage designing, so constant arguments with the programmer was enough to put me on a mind-jack.<strong>

**To be honest, I am a little disappointed with this chapter since it took such a long time to write for a more of a filler like chapter. So I think this chapter does not hit the mark of my satisfaction.  
><strong>

****As a NOTE: I might put this story on a break for next week. But don't worry, I am not putting this story on indefinite hiatus. I just need a break to fix up my posting schedule so I am able to post a chapter for this story every Sunday like always. On the other hand I will try to update NEO later this week if I am able to write.****

******So that's it for this chapter guys. Please do leave a review and let me know how am I doing so far with the story. **Until then I will see you all around.****


	16. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - The Past

**Hey Guys! I'm very very sorry for such a very late upload. Life hasn't been treating me well to the point I am almost going to lose my sanity. Well, I hope you guys enjoy Chapter 16 of Loneliness.**

****Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media, especially InuYasha.****

* * *

><p>Under bright skies illuminated by the sun, InuYasha, Nobuhiro and Suzume were walking through an open road. They had been walking since the morning thanks to InuYasha's decision to keep on moving.<p>

"Sigh! We've been walking for almost whole half day. Could we have some rest?" Nobu asked.

"Whole half day? Does that even make sense?" Suzume asked.

"Well, of course it." Nobu replied.

"No, it didn't." Suzume argued.

"Of course it does. Try not to take it densely you will find out it has some meaning." Nobu said.

"Nobu, Nobu, try to make your sentences a lot simpler next time, will you?" Suzume asked in a disappointed tone.

"Hey, if a sentence makes some sense then it can be used." Nobu said.

"No, it can't."

"Of course it can."

And they went on arguing who was right and who was wrong. InuYasha who was a little ahead was listnening to all the bantering of two. Frankly, he was bugged by all of their constant nonsense. It was really annoying. But he had to deal with it. He really didn't want to get in between all that. After all, it wasn't his argument to begin with.

But on the other side, he actually missed all that. He really missed Kagome's scolding. Her voice even though harsh and cruel, had a sweet reason. After all, she was tasked on putting one half-demon in a straight line and she did succeed it doing that. However, he never got to thank her for that because time took her away from him and there was no way she was getting back. It would be a miracle if she ever did. That would be a dream which would come true. But it was still a dream and the chances of that happening were very thin.

However, he really did not miss those sits that would be constantly thrown at him. Some of which he really deserved and some which were just to amuse Kagome herself. InuYasha at that moment agreed that he really needed some of the sits that she would spit out. But sometimes she would just do it for no reason despite InuYasha trying to help her.

"I will never get that woman." InuYasha said to himself.

"Huh! Did say something?" Nobu asked.

"Eh! Nothing, just keep quiet with your argument, it is just so annoying." InuYasha replied.

"Hey! I am trying to prove my point to Suzume over here. Can't you see?" Nobu yelled in a medium tone voice.

"Well, when did I say you never did try? I didn't say you to stop your argument." InuYasha replied. "Just keep it low so I cannot hear, okay?"

Actually no matter how low they would argue InuYasha could easily hear them. After all he was a half-demon. He had really strong ears, well… dog-ears to be exact. With these words they kept on moving. But to InuYasha's surprise, both of them kept quiet.

It had been quite a few days since the night of the new moon. They had barely escaped death on that night. Well, only InuYasha because Nobuhiro is a boy cursed with immortality and Suzume was a mermaid who he didn't even knew how she was and InuYasha, everything happened right on the night he hated the most. That night was the night new moon, the night when InuYasha would lose all his demonic powers and become nothing more than a mere human.

However despite all that, InuYasha still managed to survive the night. He saved the two fools on his human night and that was enough.

"Hey, look a village is ahead." Suzume pointed out.

"Where?" Nobu asked.

"There." Suzume pointed out.

It was a pretty common village. Villagers were going around here and there with their everyday lives. But there was one thing different. There was a shrine with a long line of followers.

"Hmm! Now where are we?" InuYasha asked.

"Like I would know." Nobu replied.

"Should we go?" Suzume asked.

"I think we should." Nobu replied.

"I think it's a bad idea." InuYasha said.

"Why?" Nobu asked.

"It's because I have bad experiences with situations like these." InuYasha replied.

"Oh! That's right. You're a half-demon, I forgot." Nobu said.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Suzume asked.

"I really don't know." Nobu replied.

All three stared at the village in silence. They were all confused about what to do. InuYasha couldn't enter the village because he was a half-demon. He couldn't really enter now since he was no longer with Kagome, Miroku or even Sango. They were the reason why he could enter the human civilization. Now without them, he could probably never be able to go inside a village again.

"Have you ever tried to gotten inside the civilizations once?" Nobu asked.

"Why do you ask?" InuYasha asked.

"I'm asking because if you were battling the Shikon jewel with some companions, then it is likely that you had come across some village." Nobu said.

"Heh! Shut up." InuYasha said.

"Why?" Nobu asked.

"It's none of your business." InuYasha replied.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help. No need to be so rude about it." Nobu yelled raising his fist.

"Well, you aren't helping." InuYasha said stuffing his hands inside his sleeves.

"Will, you at least let us try?" Nobu asked.

"No, I am not going. We should ignore the place and take another route." InuYasha said.

"But look…" Nobu said.

"…Suzume is also tired. We are all tired. So we should rest." Nobu said as he began pressing Suzume's shoulders.

Nobu who was trying to convince InuYasha to agree, got a nice gift from Suzume. She immediately crashed her fist on Nobu's head while twitching her eyebrows while causing Nobu to fall on the ground.

"We shall rest elsewhere." InuYasha said.

"Hey, but come on. We are tired of being on the road for days. At least let us stay a night at the village." Nobu complained.

"Nobu is right though. I am pretty tired of just travelling for so many days." Suzume said.

"Sigh! Why don't you understand? I am not going to have fire thrown at me again." InuYasha said.

"But you have us. We will do the talking." Nobu said.

"Can I help you?" They suddenly heard someone speak.

All three of them turned around to find an old merchant carrying some goods on his cart.

"Get out" Nobu said.

"Shut up" InuYasha said to Nobuhiro.

"Oh yes please. Can you please tell us about this village? I mean, why is there such a long line of followers at this shrine." Suzume asked.

"Oh, you mean that one. The shrine has a very strong following because of the shrine maiden we have here." The merchant replied.

"The shrine maiden?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, it is said that she has spiritual powers unlike any other." The merchant said.

"Spiritual powers? Hmm" InuYasha said to himself.

Somehow now InuYasha's interest was caught. This entire shrine maiden thing, did she have powers like Kagome or Kikyo did? Was she a priestess?

"I can see that you have a demon as a companion." The merchant pointed out.

"Oh him? Don't worry. He is of no harm." Nobu said to the merchant.

"I see." The merchant said.

"HEY! I AM NO DEMON. I AM A HALF-DEMON." InuYasha yelled.

"Well, it seems you do have some humanity in you. Well, I think the villagers won't mind welcoming you." The merchant said.

"Is it okay that we enter the village? I mean we do have a half-demon with us as our companion, I hope nothing is wrong with that." Suzume asked.

"Sure, and don't worry. The villagers do not mind demons being around this area that have no ill will. So it should be pretty fine." The merchant said.

"Well, thank you very much." Suzume said.

"You're very welcome." The merchant said.

With these words, the merchant set off into a completely different direction leaving the three behind.

Suzume at that moment turned towards InuYasha.

"What do you think?" Suzume asked.

"We will go." InuYasha replied.

"What?" Nobu said in surprise.

Nobu kept on staring in surprise as they began to move towards the village.

Soon, they entered the village. The village was pretty busy and they were staring at them very densely. Of course, it wasn't because of Nobu or Suzume but it was due to InuYasha of course. They had a half-demon, or in their eyes a demon in their village. They looked concerned. But why wouldn't they be? After all, they had a demon in their village. They would definitely be concerned.

But for some reason, InuYasha didn't care. He just kept silent and kept on moving.

This somehow surprised Nobuhiro. Just a few moments ago, the half-demon was revolting against going into the village. But something suddenly changed his mind. What was it? He had no idea. But the sudden change in mind meant something. It had to.

* * *

><p>They traveled through the village for the whole day but they just couldn't find the way out. They started feeling lost. They had no idea where to go or where to stay.<p>

"May I help you?" They heard a voice behind them.

They turned around to find a woman.

"It seems you are quite lost." The woman said.

"Yes, we were just passing by but we got lost. Please, can you tell us the way through?" Suzume asked.

"Well, it is that way if you will." The woman said as she raised her hand.

She then pointed a path that led out of the village.

"Oh! Thank you for the help, we should be going now." Suzume said.

"Now there hold on. You have been travelling for a whole day. I believe you must be tired. You can stay here for tonight." The woman said.

"I don't think that should be necessary." Suzume said.

"Don't kid yourself. You're all tired. It's written all over your face." The womans said.

"Well, if you insist so." Suzume said.

"Good, the visitors are kept at the shrine but you can have supper at my house. You can go there and give some prayers." The woman said.

"We appreciate your humble support." Nobu said.

"Please, we do care about our visitors. My husband is away so I might use some company while he is away." The woman said.

With these words, the woman led the three to her house. The day was turning into dusk as all the villagers began heading back home. Their tough day of work had finally come to an end and it was now time for them to retire to their respective homes.

Nobuhiro then realized. Something was wrong with InuYasha. He had not even rebelled against them staying at the village. In fact, he had been awfully quiet. This was totally not like him and this somewhat made him worry.

* * *

><p>Soon they finally reached the hut. It was a pretty small hut that was very simple. There was nothing special about it. But it was pretty clean and fine.<p>

"Please, do make yourself comfortable while I go and talk at the shrine." The woman said bowing.

"Thank you. We appreciate your hospitality." Suzume said bowing as well.

With these words the woman went away.

"So we finally found some shelter for the night." Nobu said.

"I guess. Let's hope they don't start doing wild magic just because we have one half-demon with us." Suzume said.

"They'd better not." InuYasha said.

Suzume then turned to Nobuhiro.

"Well, I am surprised." Suzume said.

"Why?" Nobu asked.

"The last time you talked to a person you just simply used bad words." Suzume replied.

"What do you mean?" Nobu asked.

"Well, you thanked the nice lady who is giving us a place to stay." Suzume said.

"Well, you told me I had to work on those people skills didn't you?" Nobu asked crossing his hands.

"Yep, I did and you should thank me for that." Suzume said.

"Really?" Nobu asked.

Suzume only gave a nod.

"Sigh! Sometimes I really don't get you." Nobu said.

"But most of the time you do." Suzume responded.

"Whatever." Nobu said.

* * *

><p>Up at the temple, the woman entered the shrine. A girl was giving her prayer in front of the shrine as the followers had gone and the day had ended.<p>

"Lady Sen. I have two visitors for you. They are travellers and they need shelter for the night." The woman said.

The girl then turned around to look at the woman.

"I see. Do send them and I will make preparation for their night's stay. After all we really do welcome our visitors." The girl named Sen replied.

The woman only bowed and ran back to her house.

* * *

><p>That night after they were done with their supper, Nobu found InuYasha standing under a tree with his hands stuffed inside his sleeves and his eyes closed shut as if deep in thought. Nobu was now very curious. It was pretty strange. Something was going on in his head. He had to find out. Why was InuYasha so awkwardly silent? With this thought on his mind, he moved towards InuYasha.<p>

"Hey!" Nobu called InuYasha.

InuYasha opened his eyes and turned towards Nobuhiro.

"What is it?" InuYasha asked.

"Tell me something. What is going on in that head of yours?" Nobu asked.

"What is going on in my head?" InuYasha asked.

"Yep, in that head of yours. Like why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Nobu asked.

"So what, you want me to start complaining around all the time?" InuYasha asked.

"I didn't mean that fool." Nobu replied.

"Then what did you mean?" InuYasha asked.

"You were against the decision to go by through this village. But now we are going to stay the whole night here. Yet you are not even saying anything now. What is going on in that heae of yours?" Nobu asked.

"I don't know. I am feeling queasy about this place." InuYasha said.

"Why are there any demons?" Nobu asked.

"No, I don't sense any demons. It's just. It just feels weird. Like as if something really is bad going on." InuYasha said.

"Perhaps it's your instinct." Nobu said. "Don't worry I am not saying anything against you because we all our instinct."

"Sigh! I really don't know what to say?" InuYasha said. "Maybe it's because I have a soft side for priestesses."

"Hmm! A soft side for priestesses?" Nobu asked.

"Yeah!" InuYasha replied.

"Hmm! Is it something that I am thinking?" Nobu asked with a grin.

InuYasha slapped his palm on his forehead in disappointment.

"Perhaps." InuYasha replied.

"Don't worry I am not going to make fun of it. I know you might have been treasuring that past and I understand that it's special. You can share with me if you want to." Nobu said.

InuYasha could only give a faint smile. He was somehow happy that there was at least someone who understood what he was going through and that was a good thing.

"You know I always ask myself one question. Like why are you still with us?" Nobu asked.

"Why do you ask that question?" InuYasha asked.

"I mean, there have been times where you could have just ran away, like your night of being a human or you could have just punched us out and ignored us. But you still stayed with us. Why?" Nobu asked.

"Like I still remember Suzume making me promise that you guys needed to go to one destination and I was supposed to make sure that you two get there safely. I don't back out on promises. I never have and I never will because time and again I have broken promises and because of that, I almost and have lost things that were precious to me. Also, there was someone who I promised to protect, yet failed to do it and when that happened, it crushed my heart." InuYasha said.

"So is it that woman you loved?" Nobu asked.

"I had two woman in my life. It was one of them." InuYasha replied.

"You had two women in your life?" Nobu was shocked.

"Yes, while one was a priestess, another was a reincarnation of her." InuYasha said.

"WHAT? Now that is really freaking me out. How is that even possible?" Nobu said.

"Well, this was the same priestess who pinned me down to a tree for 50 years, and it was her reincarnation who freed me. It was then the jewel's journey began after the reincarnate shattered the it to pieces." InuYasha said.

"So, the priestess pinned you down and it was her reincarnation? This is like one of those tales I heard." Nobu said.

"Heh! Another strange thing is, the reincarnated girl was 500 years from the future and she used to wear really strange clothes and she also had that strange cart of hers. " InuYasha said with a small laugh.

"So, why did she pin you down?" Nobu asked.

"We were tricked" InuYasha replied. "Well, the priestess was then revived by some old witch or demon or whatever she was and at that time. The only thing that was keeping her alive was her hatred against me while the rest of the soul remained with the incarnate. At that moment, I became destined to prove her wrong. I wanted to prove her wrong that I never betrayed her and I always loved her no matter what. But at that moment I never realized, I had one more person who became important to me."

"So, the incarnate I guess?" Nobu gave a guess.

"Yes, time and again she just stood by me. She never gave up on me. She was a completely different person. She maybe hard and all that but in the end she was really nice and kind. So I was then stuck in a dilemma. It was her or her situation. But soon, fate made me easier to decide because the priestess gave her life up from her new body as well and it was me who was the last person to say goodbye to her." InuYasha said.

"I see." Nobu said.

"Well, eventually we did defeat the half-demon that caused all the disaster. But when that happened, the reincarnate, who I humbly call her Kagome was taken away from me by time. She is safe now and that was enough for me. I didn't see her die and I didn't want to cause that would be too much for me to handle." InuYasha said.

"And then you ran away and you ran into us in the forest." Nobu said.

"Yes. When I was hunting for the Shikon Jewel, for the first time in my life I had friends and that had been the best part of my life. But then I realized. I never made any friends. The friends I had were only friends because of Kagome. I remember all of them trying to kill me the first time we met and then they saw Kagome and they agreed to travel with me because of her. Once again, I had nobody that ever cared for me. Whether I live or die." InuYasha said. "However, your immature acts, every time I see two of you talking, arguing, I remember the days I spent with Kagome and I never told you this because I was afraid to let anyone in my heart. I was just scared."

"I see." Nobu said. "You know I haven't told you everything either."

"What do you mean?" InuYasha asked.

"You may see me as an immature and whiney little boy. But I have seen enough in my life. I know how much painful it is to die and I know what pain you have to face when you have to see others die right in front of you. Everybody disagrees with me I know. But at the end of the day, I am being immature on purpose." Nobu said.

"I don't get you." InuYasha said.

"I am being immature because it makes me a human. If Suzume hadn't appeared in my life at the right time, then I don't know what would have become of me. I would have lost my sanity and I would have only become a soul in an empty vessel. You may think me as immature, but I have no purpose in life like you. The only reason I am here is because of Suzume." Nobu said. "If only that truth hadn't been revealed."

"What truth?" InuYasha asked.

"He means the day of the eclipse." A voice said.

InuYasha turned around to find Suzume.

"The day of the eclipse?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, on the day of the rare eclipse where the moon completely engulfs the sun, when darkness falls on the land during the day, on that day, if you drink a mermaid's blood mixed in the water from the lake that is hidden in the valley of darkness, then all the curse you ever committed shall be forgotten." Suzume said.

"Suzume, please don't say it." Nobu said.

"No Nobu, you have to hear me out. This is what you want no, this is what you need. You have to face it. This is life. This is my fate." Suzume said.

"No it is not. That will not be your fate." Nobu said.

"Will you listen to me for once?" Suzume asked in a loud voice. "You never listen to me. You never have. Why don't you believe it for once? Tell me, Nobu. Why won't you listen to me?"

"Because I am afraid." Nobu said. "Dying might be easy for you, but for me living without you has no meaning. It's simply not easy."

"Then can you live like this forever?" Suzume asked.

Nobuhiro really couldn't say anything. He just stood quiet because there was nothing for him to say.

"Excuse me." A voice called them.

They all turned around to see the house woman standing.

"It is time. The room is ready." The woman asked.

"Thank you" Suzume replied.

* * *

><p>The three were then let to the shrine. They were immediately welcomed by Sen who was standing in front of the platform right in front of the door.<p>

"Ah! Welcome visitors." Sen welcomed them with a wide smile. "Please, we shall show you the room you are lodging tonight."

They were shown one room which had three futons laid out.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." Sen said.

"Thanks you for your hospitality." Suzume said with a bow.

"Oh! It's nothing. It's what we do. Now if you excuse me, I have to retire as well." Sen said.

With these words she went away.

As Sen was walking down the house...

"Lady Sen." A man called her. "Why did you let them in the house?"

"It's what I have been waiting for all my life." Sen said. "The day my **SISTER** came back."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I know this chapter isn't one of my best. I am still unsatisfied by the time it took me just to get this chapter completed. It is just frustrating. But I am just tired of all the job pressure I am getting. So I am really getting less time to write. I am just frustrated to the point, I just want to throw a rock at the mirror. But anyways, I apologize for the late update but I will try to make it in time hopefully. I will try to post and update next week for Loneliness as for NEO, there will be no chapters for it due to my late update. I can't promise this time though due to all the job pressure I am getting but I will try to post something next week.<strong>

**Megan:_I really don't do previews and chapter name voting because I don't know what I might write in the next chapter. There have been time and again where there have been so much stuff added that my planned chapter ending gets delayed. Also, I never thought the first arc would be like this long. So yeah, I stopped the planning stuff and now I am going at random because it just doesn't work for me. All I have in plan for now is that I have planned three arcs, with Kagome's story going side by side while a whole storyline is going to be dedicated to Sango in the third arc side by side. But for the most part, it's InuYasha and Kagome. Anyways, thanks for you opinion._  
><strong>

********So that's it for this chapter guys. Please do leave a review and let me know how am I doing so far with the story. **Until then I will see you all around.******

******As a note: NEO is my second fanfiction which is more sci-fi. Please do check it out if you are interested.******


	17. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Reminiscing Past

**Hey Guys! Here's a new chapter and I am on time. I hope you enjoy it.**

****Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media especially InuYasha.****

* * *

><p>Under the darkness of the sky of the night time, when the whole world was sleeping, there was one person who could not. It was InuYasha. Just like always he couldn't really sleep that night, again. It had been quite some time since he hadn't slept. But every night instead of sleeping, he would always wonder. What did that dream he saw meant? What is this journey to some mountain is trying mean? What did the dream itself mean?<p>

All he saw was flames all around him, with two red eyes and a black mist surrounding them. Aside from that, there was nothing.

As these thoughts entered his mind, he saw two bodies sleeping right in front of him. Nobuhiro and Suzume were fast asleep. The walking they had done all day may have exhausted them. So, it was natural of them to fall asleep. After all, no matter how much immortal they were, they were still humans. Except Suzume.

But then InuYasha realized one thing, Suzume was a half-demon. Then, why didn't she emit the stench of a half-demon? All this time, InuYasha never even got a scent of demon blood in her. Not even when she was in her mermaid form. It was always said in legends that mermaids were different types of half-demons due to the fact that they could transform into humans thus disguising their scent. But something was different about her. What was it? He had no idea.

But one thing that did disturb him was the fact that Suzume was supposed to break Nobu's curse. But not by any means, but by drinking her blood? That was totally insane. How could his curse be broken just by drinking her blood? It is not possible that you take someone's life just to bring mortality back to others. If Nobu's curse was probably done by eating some god's flesh then would drinking the blood of a half-demon do any good? It just wasn't fair on any terms. You take someone's life just to shorten the lifespan of yours? This was just not fair.

"Sigh! Guess things are really deeper than I thought aren't they?" InuYasha said to the two sleeping bodies that were right in front of him.

InuYasha was clearly against this. Why would Nobu allow such an act? Why was Suzume agreeing to do this? Was something wrong with their heads?

If anything else, InuYasha found this act to be strictly a humiliation against half-demons. How many times half-demons would be killed like this? It was just sickening.

But who would care? After all half-demons are vile abominations in this world, right?

"Life is just sick." InuYasha said to himself.

Unable to sleep or even sit, InuYasha stood up. He stood up because he was tired of thinking of all the things that was screwing up his head. At that moment, he decided to go outside hoping that the fresh air would clear his mind.

InuYasha stood up, went towards the door and opened it to reveal the beautiful sight of the dark sky filled with stars that were shining very brightly in the dead of the night.

It was very dark. There was no sound coming from the surroundings. It somehow indicated that there was no trouble around and that was fine by him. He didn't want to go around trying to save the two again. Not to say that he was never going to save them, but rather keep them safe. After all, it was better to prevent the incident rather than letting it happen.

InuYasha stepped outside and slid the door behind close. He then settled himself right in front of the door. Tonight, they were sleeping in an unknown village. After all, those two had been captured before by the humans. So it would be best that InuYasha stay guard for them. At least it would minimize their chances of becoming captured.

Somehow, it was strange. The village was just too darn quiet. Times like these would indicate that there would be trouble right around the corner. But it was just silent. There was no scent of danger and no scent of anything but just plain air of the flowing wind. It was just too silent.

Still the feeling of queasiness was still not gone and he was still doubtful of everything that was happening. Like why would they allow a half-demon to stay at a village? It was just strange.

But was he thinking too narrowly? After all it wasn't the first time he had been inside a human civilization. He had been there many times. Thanks to Kagome, Miroku and Sango that was possible. Maybe he was just doubtful because of what life had treated him.

"Yeah! Maybe I am just being too narrow." InuYasha said.

"Then why are you?" He heard a voice from behind.

InuYasha turned around and found Nobu standing in front of the door.

"Why are you up so late?" InuYasha asked.

"Same thing I could ask you." Nobu said.

"I just don't sleep." InuYasha said.

"Heh! You think I would believe that." Nobu said.

"Then what am I supposed to tell you?" InuYasha asked.

"The truth" Nobu replied.

"The truth? What truth am I supposed to tell you?" InuYasha asked. "I told you everything I am supposed to tell you."

"Well, you are not telling me everything." Nobu replied.

"Where are you trying to get at?" InuYasha asked.

"Something is disturbing you. Every time I look at you during night, I see you fearing about something." Nobu replied. "For once I believe that you did not run away because you were feeling lonely. You ran away because something is haunting you."

InuYasha couldn't say anything. He just closed his eyes and look down. Nobu just looked at him. He then looked up to the sky.

"Let me tell you one thing." Nobu said.

"What is it?" InuYasha asked.

"I can't sleep either." Nobu replied.

"You can't sleep? Don't kid me. You were just sleeping peacefully right just now." InuYasha said.

"Well, things can be deceiving you know. After all that has happened with me, do you really think I would be able to sleep?" Nobu asked. "You see it's not easy to forget things."

"What have you done?" InuYasha asked.

"I have also killed people." Nobu said.

"What do you mean?" InuYasha asked.

"I have killed humans in my life." Nobu said.

"Why?" InuYasha asked.

"I was losing my sanity. You see, dying isn't as easy as you know. We might have heard stories of warriors dying peacefully but I know how that feels. It feels like hell and is probably worse than everything you knew." Nobu said.

"So why did you kill humans?" InuYasha said.

"It's because…" Nobu was trying to say something but was having a hard time.

"Because what?" InuYasha asked.

Nobu gave a giggle.

"I might sound stupid saying this but, I thought that humans were sick. They would kill everyone and anyone. They were just simply sick. I tried to kill me and in every way possible. So I just made up my mind saying that humans are sick, they put so much effort into killing each other. Hence I decided I would kill them because those who make other suffer should face the suffering themselves." Nobu said.

"Wait, you mean they tortured you?" InuYasha said.

"Yes, and they did not spare a moment. It is a long story but I will tell you later. I hope you understand." Nobu said.

"I will." InuYasha said.

"Thank you. Like I have said to you in the past, I have hard time trusting people. Now you might know the reason why." Nobu said. "So have you killed anybody?"

"I have." InuYasha replied.

"Well, care to tell me about it?" Nobu asked.

"Well, I was running through the woods and a thing was running away from me. It was very hard for me to get to it. It ran very fast but in the end I got to it." InuYasha said.

"Woah! That's difficult. Did you not feel anything when you killed?" Nobu asked.

"Why would I feel anything for killing a rabbit?" InuYasha asked.

Nobu gave a long sigh.

"That's not what I meant." Nobu said.

"Then what did you mean?" InuYasha asked.

"I mean, when was the first time you killed a human?" Nobu asked. "Have you even killed a human?"

InuYasha kept silent. He really did speak anything.

"I have." InuYasha said breaking the silence.

Nobu was still listening. He was still intrigued by the story.

"It was a night when I was running away from the villagers who had found me. I was just trying to pass the village and run off into the jungle. But someone found me. He grabbed me and tried to kill me. He had an axe and he tried to cut my head off. But I fought. I was too scared to die. But in the end, I ended up killing him. He died throwing a curse at me like any human would do. I was just standing there in shock. I really couldn't believe what I had done. I had just taken a man's life." InuYasha said.

"I see. I know it's hard but when I killed, I had no remorse. I was just lost in anger. I wanted nothing but blood. That's all." Nobu replied.

"Well, that wasn't all. Then suddenly a little girl appeared right in front of me and she immediately ran towards the man in tears. It turned out that the man was that girl's father. She was trying to wake her up desperately. She was crying and I was there just looking at her. But I didn't wait, I ran away." InuYasha said.

"So you were just a kid then?" Nobu asked.

"Yes, I killed a human at that time. Till that time I thought that humans were cruel and unforgiving. But after that, it dawned on me. They were weak. That's why they were scared of the demons so much. Demons on the other hand were sick creature. They tried to kill me just for their own enjoyment. That's why I hated demons so much." InuYasha said. "So can you fight?"

"I can fight humans. But if you are asking me about demons then my answer is a straight no." Nobu replied.

"Well, I will take that with a grain of salt. After all I haven't really seen you fight yet." InuYasha said.

"Heh! You will soon see. Just pass me a sword and you will see." Nobu said.

"Hope so. Unfortunately you haven't fought any demons. So you are pretty useless to me." InuYasha said.

"Sigh! Just don't get on my nerves." Nobu warned.

"Why just because I called you useless?" InuYasha asked.

"A time will come. Trust me." Nobu said.

Both of them stood there in silence. They looked at the sky as the night was passing by.

"Trust" InuYasha said breaking the silence.

"What?" Nobu asked.

"Trust" InuYasha said.

"Trust?" Nobu said.

"Trust… Something I never had in my life. Something I fought all my life and worked so hard to get it. Something I lost so easily." InuYasha said.

"You lost trust in your friends? You do remember that you were the one who ran away from them." Nobu said.

"No I did not lose any trust any of my former friends. I lost trust in fate." InuYasha said.

"That's the most stupid thing I ever heard." Nobu said.

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" InuYasha yelled.

"Will you stay quiet? You will wake up everybody." Nobu said.

InuYasha landed his palm on his own face. Nobu really wasn't getting it, was he?

"Well, then tell me smart face. What is not stupid?" InuYasha asked.

"You don't lose trust just because fate took something away from you." Nobu said.

"I am really not getting you." InuYasha said.

"Then don't get it." Nobu replied.

"Sigh! Just be straight will you." InuYasha said.

"I don't know if you will get this or not, but don't lose trust on your friends just because fate made you lose it." Nobu said.

"Heh! When did I say I had any friends?" InuYasha asked.

"Sigh! You are really think narrow." Nobu said.

"Whatever." InuYasha said.

Nobu then stood up and went inside.

"Well, hope the night treats you well." Nobu said.

"What are you gonna do?" InuYasha asked.

"I am just going to close my eyes. Hopefully I fall asleep." Nobu said.

"Well, good luck on that." InuYasha said.

Nobu then went inside the door and shut it close. At least now InuYasha would have some time off for himself. Not to say that he wasn't getting any. But he just annoyed by the constant disturbance that was happening. He just looked into the sky.

"Mother, I am remembering you after a long time. So, I am just asking you a question. Does my life have value? Am I really worth living?" InuYasha asked.

At that moment, he remembered something from his long past. Something that he never wanted to remember, but was now coming into his head. He tried hard to forget it. But he couldn't. It just appeared out of nowhere and now he had to live through it all over again.

* * *

><p>"<em>Just beat him down." He heard a voice.<em>

_All he could do was hear a voice. He couldn't see. He couldn't say anything. All he could feel was the pain and several sticks that were being collided with his flesh. He was being beaten down badly for a small blunder he made and they were making him pay. But the boy did not understand why they were doing it. Just they were doing it. It made no sense but it was very painful._

_Then a man grabbed his hair and made the boy to face him. His eyes were flaring red with anger and they were very cold. Not a single hint of forgiveness was in his eyes._

"_How dare you try to kill my son." The man said._

"_I did not do anything. I just grabbed his arm and that's it." The boys said._

"_Try to lie as much as you want, you vile abomination. You will never be able to hide that true nature of yours. His hands were bleeding." The woman beside him said._

"_Just kill him already. We don't want any more trouble caused by this thing." The man behind him said._

_Then the next moment, the boy heard everybody chant the word yes. Why were they chanting? What wrong did he do? He just grabbed the boy's arm and that's all he did. He did no wrong. But why were they treating him like this? The only word that ran through the boy's head was 'Why?'_

_They threw the boy on the ground again and started beating him again._

"_STOP" He heard a woman yell._

_All of the heads were then turned around to see a woman running towards the crowd._

"_What do you think you are doing?" The woman asked the crowd in a loud voice._

"_Get out of here woman. You have no business here." The man yelled._

"_This is my business and you should have realized it by now." The woman yelled._

"_You don't get it woman. This vile abomination will kill us all." The man said._

"_You call him a vile abomination. But for once just look at yourself." The woman said._

"_You still don't get it woman. He tried to kill my son." The woman beside the man yelled._

"_He just grabbed your son's arm and he is just a child. Do you think he will be able to kill anybody?" The woman asked at the top of her voice._

"_What do you want woman?" The man asked._

"_I want you to leave my son." The woman said._

_The whole crowd were dropped to silence. Everybody just looked at each other. The boy on the other hand was still on the ground. He was looking at everyone in question. They had suddenly became quiet for no reason._

"_He is your son?" The man asked._

"_Yes." The woman said._

_Then the crowd burst into laughter. They all laughed at the woman. Why were they laughing? What happened al of a sudden?_

"_She bore a half-breed." He heard one of them say._

"_What a shame." He heard another person say._

"_A pathetic life to live" He heard again._

"_Hey! Everyone, let's fulfill the wish of the woman. Let's leave these two here. We have no time to waste." The man said._

_The boy heard the crowd say the word yeah. They were also saying other things but what did they mean, he really didn't know. Soon the crowd began moving away and soon there was no one left in the area, just the woman and the boy._

"_INUYASHA" She cried as she ran towards the boy._

_She then picked him up looked for any bruises. But she was relieved that there weren't any._

"_Are you okay?" The woman asked._

"_Mother" was the only word he could speak._

"_What is it?" The woman asked._

"_What is a half-breed?" The boy asked._

_The woman couldn't say anything. She just stood there looking at the boy's face. The boy was still waiting for his answer and he expected one as well. But he did not get it._

_Instead, the woman immediately pulled the boy into an embrace. The boy was now confused even more. But then he heard a few sobs. It was his mother crying._

"_Mother, why are you crying?" The boy asked._

_But she did not say anything. She just kept on crying. Why was she crying? What did the word half-breed mean? He so badly wanted answers. Sadly, he never realized that it would take almost 200 years for him to get that answer._

* * *

><p>The next morning, Suzume woke up to find InuYasha staring at the sky.<p>

"Well, you are up so early." Suzume said.

"Huh! Oh, you awake? Get ready, we will leave as soon as we are done with the morning meal." InuYasha said.

"Okay" Suzume said.

Soon, Nobu woke up. Both of them got ready. They then gave their morning prayers at the shrine. Soon, they had their morning meal and then it was time to go.

"Thank you for everything." Suzume said to Sen.

"Oh! Don't worry about that. It's our job that we treat our guests well." Sen said with a smile.

"Well, we should be on our way now." Suzume said.

They went down the stairs and followed the path that was pointed out by the woman.

As soon as they exited the village, they heard a loud explosion.

"What was that?" Nobuhiro asked.

"It looks like it came from there." Suzume pointed out a little bit farther up in the hill.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, how was it guys. I hope you all liked it<strong>**. This chapter was very hard to post since I do not have internet in my area for almost two weeks now. But I hope you guys loved this chapter regardless. Please do leave a review and let me know how I am doing so far with this story.**

**I will try to post chapter 18 next week and hopefully another chapter for NEO this week. Also, I will upload a one-shot this week with which I am trying to experiment with the word 'TORTURE'.**

****Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you like it and I will see you around.****


	18. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Embarrassing

**Hey Guys! Here's another chapter 18. Sorry for the late update.**

****Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media especially InuYasha.****

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><p>Under the heat of the early summer, InuYasha and his two companions were running towards the location where the explosion was happening. They had just gotten out of the village after spending a night and now they were running after an explosion.<p>

The night was pretty peaceful for InuYasha. He expected things to go bad during their night stay but for the whole night everything stayed quiet. In fact it for InuYasha, it was one of his best nights. It was peaceful, plus he really got to talk to Nobuhiro in a lot more depth. For the most part, he had never talked to anybody till this extent. But however, for that moment he had no time to think about that. There was a strange explosion happening in the distance and they were running towards that place. They had to find out what was going on.

"Are you two okay?" InuYasha asked the two persons who were on his back.

"Yeah!" Suzume said.

"Are you sure we did the right thing by going after it?" Nobu asked.

"There's only one way to find out." InuYasha said.

With these words he ran towards the location where the explosion was happening.

* * *

><p>In another world, Kagome was walking down the road towards her college with an umbrella over her head in the middle of a downpour. Usually she would be late reaching her school. But for that day, well in fact most of the days now she was on time. After all, she really didn't need to jump through the well again to fight demons or anything. That was well behind her now and she was just a normal high school girl. A high school girl who did exams and did stuff that a normal human would do. She was no longer a supposed of a priestess with powers so strong that it could vaporize any demon.<p>

"Hey Kagome!" A voice called her from behind.

Kagome turned around to see the person who was calling her.

It was Minatsuki. She was running through the downpour with nothing above her head other than her own hand. She was already drenched and she was trying to find some shelter.

"Oh! Mina. Hurry up." Kagome said.

Mina rushed even faster stepping on the puddles that were on the road. Kagome on the other hand waited patiently. Soon, she was finally under the umbrella of Kagome.

"Whew! Thanks for that one." Mina said.

"Woah! You are drenched." Kagome said. "What will you do now?"

"Don't worry. I always keep a spare uniform in my locker. Always, works." Mina said with a smile.

With these words, they began moving towards their school.

"So, how are you doing?" Mina asked.

"Well, I am pretty fine." Kagome replied.

Mina suddenly stopped Kagome and then grabbed her face. Then she pulled her head. She then turned her head left and right. For the most part Kagome was feeling weird by this act. It looked like as if she was examining her face.

"Uhm! What are you doing?" Kagome asked.

Mina closed her eyes and pulled her head back as she crossed her hands.

"You know, you lie very good." Mina said.

"Eh!" Kagome said.

Kagome was now very much confused. Mina meant something but it made no sense. What did she lie to her about? Nothing had happened to her and she was pretty fine. Then what was she trying to say?

"Don't you get it?" Mina said as she opened her eyes and pushed her head a little forward.

"What are you trying to say?" Kagome asked.

Mina pulled her head back and closed her eyes again.

"I said you are lying." Mina said.

"Why do you think I am lying?" Kagome asked.

"Can't you see? You are tired." Mina replied.

"Am not." Kagome said.

"Are too." Mina said.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

[Note: Due to the use of repeated words the author has decided to chop this argument shorter. Please do understand.]

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"We need to get to school." Mina said.

"Heh!" Kagome said.

Then there was a moment of silence as a small leaf flew away right by them.

"You're right." Kagome said.

"LET'S GO THEN!" Mina yelled.

Then suddenly both the girls dashed wildly towards their school. They ran because they wasted their time arguing over a stupid thing. Now they had to hurry up and get to school very fast. They ran through the downpour both of them under the umbrella with not one of them going outside its boundaries. Both of them did not want to get drenched, so they ran in tandem with each other.

Soon, they reached their school gate as it began to rain even more heavily than before. They entered the building doors and stopped there for a while. They were both panting and they were tired. Even in the rain, they were feeling really hot because they ran a marathon in the middle of a downpour with an umbrella on their hands and bags on their shoulders. For those who don't run, that may just be an amazing feat.

They reached school on time. In fact they reached quiet early.

Kagome who was panting very badly, looked up to where Mina was standing. Then Mina pulled her head up and she looked back at Kagome. They just stood there looking at each other in silence. Then suddenly Mina began giggling but it wasn't only her. Next moment, both Kagome and Mina began laughing.

"Ahh! That was fun." Mina said.

"Well, you are drenched. Let's get to the locker room. After all you do have a spare set of clothes right?" Kagome asked.

"Oh! Yeah. You're right. Let's get going." Mina said.

Then with Kagome closing her umbrella, both of them went to the locker room to pack their bags and for Mina to change her clothes.

It felt odd, but at the same time they had really fun running through the rain. Kagome didn't know why she was laughing, but she didn't care. She just had loads of fun and by doing nothing more than running through the rain. In fact, this was the first time she had so much fun ever since she separated with InuYasha.

"Ahh! Why am I thinking about that?" Kagome asked herself.

"Thinking about what?" Mina asked.

"Oh nothing." Kagome said. "I have to say, I had tons of fun just now."

"Yeah same here." Mina said. "I never had any fun with another girl. I mean ever."

"Yeah! You told me that last time." Kagome said.

"I never had a friend aside from Takashi to be honest. On top of that a girl as a friend." Mina replied.

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"Like I said before. They don't interest me that much." Mina said.

"They don't interest you? What does that mean?" Kagome asked.

"It means…"

Then Mina suddenly dashed her head forward right in front of Kagome's.

"…that they don't attract me as much as you do Kagome." She said with a smile.

"HAAAAH!" Kagome said.

Kagome at that moment, jumped back in horror. She was shocked at the recent outcome of things. This girl became her friend because she was attracted to her. That was something Kagome really did not want to hear. All the time she was chased by a guy and she thought that was annoying. But chased by a girl who claims to have an attraction on her? That was just plain horrifying. Not only horrifying but it was just plain disgusting.

This girl had some attraction to Kagome she said. Did she have some sort of mental illness?

Then at that moment, Mina began giggling which then soon converted into a laugh. Kagome on the other hand was now surprised. Why was this girl laughing?

"GOTCHA!" Mina suddenly yelled with her finger pointing to Kagome.

Kagome at that moment heaved a sigh of relief. She almost got a heart attack thinking that Mina was serious. But for the most part, she was annoyed and not happy that she played a prank on her. In fact she just wanted to yell at her.

"You really shouldn't have done that you know." Kagome said trying hard to cover her frustration.

"Come on you know I was only joking." Mina said.

"Well, that is one horrible thing to joke on. You almost gave me a heart attack." Kagome said.

"Well, you shouldn't take everything so seriously." Mina said.

"Let's get going shall we? The class might start soon anytime and you haven't changed your clothes yet." Kagome said.

Then at that moment they realized something that make things even more awkward. They never realized it, but their commotion had brought them some viewers. The students around them saw the whole thing from start to finish.

Kagome was now feeling really stupid for even getting involved in such a thing. She was already backbitten before. Now with everything else happening it was only a matter of time before students began thinking inappropriate things about her that she wasn't. Of course, if they needed to make fun of somebody then dirty stuffs would work right?

"Let's get going shall we." Kagome said.

"Right" Mina said.

Then both of them hurried through towards the locker ignoring the staring eyes that was around them. Kagome didn't stop to look around. There were several annoying eyes at her and she was frustrated enough already. She just kept on moving until she finally reached the locker room.

Kagome not stopping went straight to her locker. She then opened it and grabbed the stuffs she would need. Mina on the other hand went to her locker and grabbed her spare clothes. She then came back to Kagome.

"Okay, you go to class. I will be there in a few moments." Mina said.

"Okay, you sure you don't want me to stay?" Kagome asked.

"No, I will be fine. Besides I think I should stay away from you for the moment because you look very angry." Mina said.

Kagome was very much annoyed at the thought. Now the whole school would probably make fun of her. Mina was surely a very big weirdo. Why was she like that? She had no idea why.

Then at that very moment, Mina lightly knocked her own head with her finger knuckles as if she realized something.

"Silly me. Of course you would be mad." Mina said.

"No, I am not." Kagome said.

"Don't tell me that silly. It's written all over your face." Mina said pointing to her face with a smile.

"Geez! Stop being so annoying, will you?" Kagome asked.

"Haha! Sorry! That's just how I am. Now go, I will meet you at the class." Mina said.

"Okay, just don't be late." Kagome said.

"I won't. Now go." Mina said.

Kagome then grabbed her stuffs and went to the classroom where she settled in her desk. It was pretty crowded in her class. There were small groups of friends here and there talking regular stuffs like how a guy ended up kissing a girl or what happened in the recent episode of an anime or the recent issue of a manga or even a light novel. But Kagome for the most part was all alone because she had no friend.

"I wonder what Eri, Yuka and Ayumi are doing?" Kagome asked herself.

Ever since she had conversation with the three girls at the fast food, she didn't really meet them again. Hell, they didn't even send her a call. But why would they care? They were in the same class and they were probably rocking out with some hot guy. Plus, they had much better class teacher than which Kagome had. So, she guessed that they were not missing her at all.

"Hey!" She heard a voice.

Kagome turned around to see the owner of the voice who was indeed no other than Mina now in a brand new uniform.

"Hey, you are done already?" Kagome asked.

"Yep. I can be fast you know." Mina said.

"Well, you are just changing clothes so that shouldn't take that long." Kagome said.

Then at that moment the bell rang.

"Oh god! The first class, its AD isn't it?" Kagome asked.

"Yep, okay better get going before the hell shows up. See you at lunch." Mina said.

With these words she rushed off to her seat.

Kagome on the other hand remembered that talk with AD at his office. If anything she was expecting that iconic yell that he was known for. In fact out of everyone she was the only one not to have gotten scolded by him. Even Mina became his victim when she was caught sleeping in the class. For a teacher who was in his early 30's, that's one old man act he was pulling off.

However, Kagome was surprised to find that she wasn't called to his office to be yelled at. In fact she never even knew why she was called to his office in the first place. She was just called and sent off.

"Please Rise" A voice spoke as the door opened and everybody in the classroom stood up to greet their teacher.

AD entered the class as all the students sat down. He had a stack of papers with him on his arms which he settled them on the desk. Kagome became wide eyed and realized what they were. They were test results. Time had flown by so fast that she never realized it had been almost weeks she gave her test.

"Students, as you can see here I have got your results from last times test and as you know I made the questions this time…." AD began and kept on going

Kagome for that moment did not care because she was going to fail anyway. She had done her best in the last test but for some miracle or curse, she would end up failing. Maybe she wasn't ready for scolding last time, but for that moment Kagome knew she was going to get scolded by AD and she was all ready for it.

"Is Miss Higurashi." AD suddenly said pointing to her.

Kagome snapped back to reality as the whole class was leaving an awe of surprise. All of the students were surprised. Hell, even Kagome was surprised by not knowing what was going on. She looked left and right in confusion while everybody else kept staring at her. Their stares madeher feel very uncomfortable. Why were they staring? She had no idea. They were just staring for some reason.

Kagome now felt like a fool. She was so occupied with herself that she did not listen to AD's words. That was just plain carelessness in her half. Now she was surely going to get scolded for what she just did.

"So, Miss Kagome, I am guessing that you haven't been listening again." AD said.

"I… I'm sorry." Kagome said with her head hung down.

"Miss Kagome, if it had been any other situation I would have yelled at you. But this time I am not." AD said.

Kagome's head threw up. She was surprised to see that reaction from AD.

"If you are confused then let me elaborate to you. I am happy that you passed my test." AD said.

Kagome for once was relieved to hear that.

"But the thing that impressed me is that you were the only one who passed it. I made papers for all the class groups but none of them passed. All of them failed and you were the only one who passed it." AD said.

Kagome's eyes widened with shock on hearing it. Why were all the student's looking at her? That was because she achieved a feat that everyone failed to achieve in her class. Even if it was just a test, it was enough. This was the first time Kagome got the taste of Supreme victory even though it wasn't as great as it could have been.

"As for the rest of you. YOU WILL HAVE TO REDO EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE LEARNT SO FAR." AD said in a loud voice.

With these words, AD began the class. Kagome's satisfaction was beyond boundaries. For the first time she was not behind in studies. In fact she was in way front. This time she was leading in the race of learning.

Kagome with a wide smile looked outside the window to the concrete lands which were soaked by the drizzling rain. It was still raining and there was no sign of it stopping. But that wasn't her concern.

"Maybe, high school might not be hell after all." Kagome said to herself.

* * *

><p>In another world under a sunny sky, InuYasha was still running towards the destination where the explosion had occurred with his two companions on his back. Soon, they reached an open space where the explosion had occurred.<p>

The area was piled with dead bodies on the ground. However, the explosion wasn't an explosion. It was a tremor of an impact. Something had a very rough landing and managed to crash. They didn't know what crashed in the area but there was a huge crater in the mud.

"What happened here?" Nobu asked.

"Like I would know." InuYasha said. "By the look of things something landed on these people."

Then at that moment, something spiked InuYasha's senses. It was very faint, but he could really track it down. It came from higher level of the hill. He then sniffed around for some more clues. It was a scent of a demon.

"What happened here?" Suzume asked.

"I don't know. But something tells me it's a demon and I can track its scent." InuYasha replied.

"You really can?" Nobu asked in surprise.

"Well, of course I can. It's because I am a half-demon." InuYasha said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Nobu said.

With these words they ran up the hill.

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><p><strong>So yes guys! Another chapter on Kagome. Sorry for the late update though. I have been very busy with my job and I am losing my sleep time these days. Also, I wanted this chapter to pick off directly where it began last time and continue through that. But something did not felt right. So I had to scrap the original version and had to rewrite this whole chapter. <strong>Please do leave a review and let me know how I am doing so far with this story.<strong>**

**Now, before I go I would like to say that it has been six months since my first fiction appeared back in January. I would never have guessed in my wildest dreams that I would have written 4 one-shot's, 1 two-shot crossover with Loneliness and NEO running side by side. So, I would like to thank everyone who have given this boy's story some support, especially FallenFan77 and tn65loverinuy620jd who have encouraged me to come this far with my stories. Thank You everyone. I will try to post the next chapter as soon as possible and I hope to contribute to the fandom of InuVerse with more unique and different stories that all of you may like.**

**Even though Madame Rumiko Takahashi has ended InuYasha, my heart craving for more of our half-demon has not died and I still go back and watch the TV show which is by far my favorite Shonen Anime of all time and out of all the endings, the very first one still robs my feelings. I hope she does well with Rin-ne and just like every other fan out there, I hope it get's adapted well into an anime.**

******Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you like it and I will see you around.******


	19. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - The Cave

**HEY Guys! I am extremely extremely sorry for having you guys wait. So, without further time to waste here's chapter 19.**

****Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media especially InuYasha.****

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><p>With the wind flowing through the air, InuYasha with his two companions on his back zoomed through the wind. They had just found a group of people dead. For some reason, InuYasha was sensing a demon nearby but what could that be?<p>

"How close is it?" Nobu asked.

"I am still tracking it. It's faint, but I can sense it." InuYasha replied.

"Are you sure we are on the right track?" Nobu asked.

"Do I need to tell you that I am a half-demon?" InuYasha asked.

"Oh! That's right. You're a dog." Nobu said.

"A HALF-DEMON!" InuYasha yelled.

"Yeah Yeah! I get it. You don't need to yell out loud." Nobu said.

"Sigh! Why do you have to be such an idiot Nobu?" Suzume asked.

"He is just acting like an idiot. He is just acting like an idiot… " InuYasha murmured in a low voice.

"What? He is a dog after all. Well, sort of." Nobu said.

"He is an idiot." InuYasha said in a voice very low.

Then at that moment he felt a little stir on his back. InuYasha could only leave a smirk to himself as he realized what had happened at that moment.

"Thanks Suzume." InuYasha said.

"Don't mention it." Suzume said.

With these words, InuYasha dashed through the wind with a boy who had a bump on his head and a girl who was utterly disappointed.

Soon, they arrived in front of a rocky region. There were hardly any trees around. But at least it wasn't a wasteland. There were a few trees and around the area InuYasha could smell the scent of water. A little bit in the distance, there was a huge hill and the scent of the demon was coming from there. There was no mistake. Even if it was a whole lot far away, it still left a trail of scent.

"Where do you think the scent is coming from?" Suzume asked.

"It's coming from that hill in the distance." InuYasha said.

"Hey InuYasha!" Suzume called.

"What?" InuYasha asked.

"Why are we going after a demon?" Suzume asked.

"What kind of question is that?" InuYasha asked.

"The demon hasn't done anything that should be our concern, so why are we going after it?" Suzume asked.

"Didn't you see those people out there? They were killed by whatever demon attacked them." InuYasha asked.

"I see." Suzume said.

With these words, she kept quiet. InuYasha was confused for a moment. Why did she ask that question when in reality the answer was right in front of her? Something was not right with her. But what was not right?

InuYasha subsiding these questions on his mind, focused on the situation at hand. There was no time to be distracted by anything at that moment. He had to be focused at what may lay in front of him.

It took a hefty amount of time but due to InuYasha's speed they finally reached the destination where the lingering scent led them to. It was the mountain they had seen from a far.

"So this is the place." Nobu said.

"Yeah! It's coming from above." InuYasha said.

"I don't know. I just don't feel right about this place." Suzume said.

"Well of course you wouldn't feel right about this place. There's a demon above after all." Nobu said.

What Nobu said was true. But even InuYasha himself was feeling queasy about everything. He could clearly feel Suzume's discomfort. It felt like something was after them. But what?

"You two stay over here. I will go above and look." InuYasha said.

"Hey! Are you sure you don't want us to come along?" Nobu asked.

"Yeah! I'm sure." InuYasha said. "Just stay here and don't go anywhere."

"But…" Suzume said.

"I SAID NO!" InuYasha yelled.

InuYasha had to yell at the two being that were right in front of them. He had no other choice. Otherwise, they would follow him along. He didn't want to drag both of them into it because Suzume was feeling very doubtful about the mountain. Nobu may not see it seriously, but InuYasha could.

"Just stay safe." InuYasha said.

With these words, he started climbing the mountain which was indeed large. It took him half a day, but he did not give up. He had to find out the demon that was responsible for killing all those people. Something was up and he had to find out.

He climbed until he saw a small opening that led him inside the mountain. He reached towards the front of the cave and took a deep breath. He could feel the scent getting stronger. The demon was right inside the opening.

But at that moment, he looked back and looked down. He never realized it, but he had climbed so high that he couldn't even see the ground.

"Sigh! Whatever's inside, there's no turning back now." InuYasha said.

He then turned around and slowly entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark and the demon's stench was getting stronger and stronger. InuYasha who was cautiously moving forward, felt a gut feeling inside. Did he really do the right thing by letting them stay behind? After all, it was Suzume's hunch that made him leave them behind. HE really couldn't get them into more trouble. But then again, why did he come to find this demon in the first place? He wasn't looking for the sacred jewel shards nor had the demon done anything wrong that would concern him. Had he really become that much light hearted, or had it been his habit of chasing a demon even though neither Kagome nor others were with him. During that one year, had he changed that much?

"Sigh! Better quickly get this done and get back." InuYasha said.

Down at the foot of the mountain, Nobu and Suzume looked up to the top of the mountain where InuYasha had vanished.

* * *

><p>"Well, there he goes." Nobu said.<p>

"Yeah!" Suzume said.

"Do you think he will come back?" Nobu asked.

"If we had met him before the journey where he made friends, then we would not come back. But we met him after the jewel was destroyed. So I am sure he will come back." Suzume said.

"I highly doubt it. So do you think we should follow him?" Nobu asked.

"No, we can't. The mountain is too steep. He was able to climb because he is a half-demon but those who have ordinary bodies like ours, there is no good trying." Suzume said.

"Well, at least. It was worth a try." Nobu said.

* * *

><p>Back up at the mountain, InuYasha's nose began sensing the demon even closer and closer. The mountain turned out to be very dense from the inside. It looked pretty big from the outside but it really didn't seem that deep. But it was and now he was getting closer to getting to the demon.<p>

It was dark, very dark. The only thing that was guiding him was his senses. Other than that, there was nothing that would lead him through the cave. It was just that horrid stench that was guiding him.

It was only a matter of time he finally got through the tunnel and onto a wide open space. There was only one whole from where the light was coming. He looked around but there was hardly anything. But it made no sense to InuYasha because the demon's stench was strongest on that area. But where was it?

He immediately got his answer he suddenly felt a violent push from behind. InuYasha was immediately thrown into the air until he crashed into the nearby wall of the cave.

InuYasha fell down to the ground after a very hard impact. He had no idea that the demon would immediately attack him. He was just sick of being attacked from behind. He always liked being attacked from the front. After all, only a coward would ever attack from behind.

With little difficulty, he got up. Then he sharpened his claws and raised his head to look at the opponent who was right in front of him. He expected some demon that would have a hideous face right in front of him. However, even he was shocked at seeing what lay in front of him.

There in the midst of the darkness, stood a huge eagle. He had very terrifying eyes. One that could freeze it's pray to death, so that it could come down and swoop it up. Those eyes however, reminded InuYasha of someone. Someone, who was probably busy floating around. That person was of course a demon, but his mistreatment to him in the past led him to hate him for good.

"Damn, why am I even remembering him?" InuYasha asked himself.

True, why was he even remembering him? After all, they parted ways not too long ago. It would be stupid of him to even remember his name especially in a situation like this.

Getting back to the eagle, it had very terrifying eyes. But it looked very beautiful. Anybody would actually mistake it for something else. Then he remembered, would demons really look this beautiful. Was thing even a demon?

At that moment, the eagle gave a loud cry and then dashed forward. InuYasha seeing the oncoming charge, jumped high up into the cave and grabbed the roof of the cave. He then just kept on clinging there.

The eagle, turned around. At that moment, InuYasha lunged forward towards the eagle.

"I DON'T NEED TESSAIGA TO KILL YOU." He yelled.

InuYasha then raised his claws to attack the demon.

But at that moment, the eagle flapped its wings very hardly. The flaps threw out winds so violent that InuYasha was thrown back again causing him to land on to the ground.

"Heh! You like to throw me around, don't you?" InuYasha asked.

He then picked himself again. But however he was suddenly frozen at hearing a sound. That was not a sound of hatred or anger. That was a sound of pain, a cry that was calling for help.

InuYasha raised his head again to find the eagle thrashing left and right and all over the place. It looked like as if it was struggling against something. But what was it? There was nothing over there that was hurting it. Was it mad?

Then the eagle got its control back and dashed forward again. InuYasha saw the opportunity. He knew this was his chance. If he missed it, then he might not even get another chance. Just like the eagle, InuYasha also dashed forward. Both of them approached each other at great speed. Not either of them were holding themselves back from approaching each other. They approached closer and closer until they were just a block away from each other.

The eagle raised its head to bang down his opponent. But InuYasha took the chance. His back immediately hit the ground. HE then slid his way under the eagle. Immediately, he dug his claws into the skin of the eagle as it ripped through the skin leaving a huge gash.

InuYasha then immediately picked himself up and raised his claws.

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER" He yelled.

Then bright yellow light streaked through the air as the claws ripped through the flesh of the huge bird that was right in front of him.

The eagle on the other hand, gave an ear splitting cry as it fell down to the ground. InuYasha could already smell the blood coming out from the body of the demon. He could already tell that it was injured. But it wasn't enough to get it killed.

But InuYasha was curious, why would this eagle kill so many people? What business did it have with the humans?

The eagle was still breathing heavily. He was still alive, but it was in great deals of pain. It was still struggling to live.

InuYasha moved forward and raised his fists to finish off the demon that lay right in front of him. However, he just stuck there frozen. He couldn't finish off his victim because even in the deep darkness he could clearly see the eyes of the eagle.

The eagle was in pain, it was already in pain and InuYasha never even realized it. He could see the eyes where all hope was lost. But what was it hoping for? The eyes were hiding a sad truth. But what was that truth?

InuYasha with great deals of regrets running through his heart, was now even more confused regarding what was happening.

The eagle gave up all hope and closed its eyes indicating that he was ready for his fate.

InuYasha was now totally in conflict. What was he supposed to do? Should he kill it? Should he let it go? He really didn't know what to do.

For the first time in his life, he was confused over killing a demon or not. Before, he would have never hesitated. He would just slice them to pieces with his Tessaiga if they even came close. But for that moment, he just couldn't.

After being in conflict for several moments, he pulled his hands down. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill the demon because it was in pain and InuYasha understood that. He may have hated demons in the past but he could feel that there was a reason why this creature was attacked. But he had injured this creature without even realizing that it was already in pain.

InuYasha then kneeled down and then raised his hand again. He raise his hand but he wasn't going to kill him. He raised his hand and then landed his hand softly onto the skin of the eagle. Usually, demons used to have disgusting skin with dirty feathers. But this one was different. He was clean and his feathers were really smooth. Something that was very uncommon for a demon.

"Are you in pain?" InuYasha asked.

The eagle only slowly opened his eyes. InuYasha then ran his hand along his body until it reached its head. Then at that moment, InuYasha felt something. Something that was sharp and it was sticking inside the eagle's body. At that very moment, he felt a sharp spark running across his body.

InuYasha jumped back in pain. He could feel the pain surging through his body. Something was there and it was troubling this demon. InuYasha moved forward and touched the area where the sharp thing was sticking again. Again, sharp pain surged through his body. But this time he held on. He did not give up. He had to find out what it was.

After, fighting the pain for quite some time, InuYasha finally used his power and pulled the sharp object. The eagle at that moment began thrashing back and forth in pain. Soon the object came out, but because it was still in InuYasha's hands.

However, InuYasha threw the object away into the darkness. He now didn't even care what it was. After all, it caused him a lot of pain.

InuYasha dropped onto the ground as the pain was still surging through his body. His body was numb and he could not feel his legs. He did not know what that object was. But one thing was sure, it was used for exorcism. It was used to exorcise demons. On top of that, he was being controlled through that sharp object. Now question began rising inside InuYasha's head. What did this eagle do? Who would do such a thing?

"I will never see that object again." InuYasha said to himself.

After a while, InuYasha felt a lot better with his body and picked himself up. He then went back to eagle that was now in a much better shape than before.

"I am sorry." InuYasha said as he began stroking the head.

InuYasha wasn't the type who would apologize so easily. He always used to hold onto his pride and claim that he was the best. However, things had changed very quickly. InuYasha felt the pain of the demon right before him. He felt bad about it. So he had to apologize for if he did not, then he would never be able to forgive himself. For the first time in his life, he was sparing a demons life with his own heart.

At that moment, InuYasha saw something that would tear his heart apart. He never expected a demon to show this type of reaction ever in his life.

As he stroked the head of the eagle a tear ran down from the eagle's eyes. InuYasha could not help but feel bad.

However, at that moment he felt a great rumble. Was it an earthquake or what? He had no idea. The rumble continued and went on until it finally stopped.

InuYasha stood up.

"Oh no!" InuYasha said.

He then ran back towards the opening of the cave. He left Suzume and Nobu outside hoping that they would be safe. But for some reason, now he had a very gut feeling about everything that was happening. He ran and ran hoping to find an opening or something. However, he suddenly felt some pain surging through his body which threw InuYasha back.

InuYasha then rubbed his head in confusion. He just collided with a barrier. But why was it there? It wasn't there when he came inside, but is it there now?

Then at that moment, InuYasha felt the lack of wind coming into the cave. The opening, it was literally closed down. That rumble was no earthquake. It was done by something else. What was going on? Why would someone do that? Were Suzume and Nobu even okay? Something told him that he had stepped right into a trap and now it would be hard to get out of it.

"I have no time get trapped here." InuYasha said.

With these words, he then pulled out his Tessaiga. Then immediately it was flaring with red color. This was Tessaiga's red form, the one that could break any barrier.

InuYasha then raised his sword and swung his sword as blue streaks of light ran through the air. The streaks of light hit the barrier and then the next moment, the barrier and the attack began their attempt of overcoming each other.

InuYasha gave a smirk because he knew that the barrier would break. What he didn't know that this barrier would be a very unique one. Suddenly, the barrier's light flared even brighter and it engulfed the attack. Soon, darkness spread over the cave again. InuYasha could not believe at what did just happen. The barrier, consumed the attack from Tessaiga.

* * *

><p><strong>So guys, once again I am very very sorry for such a ridiculously late update. I have been on a mental meltdown at my office because I am always given one job at my office that usually has some mind screwing problems. So I am always mentally tired when I get home which usually obstructs my story writing schedule. I am now more active in my office than I was before so I really won't have time to write at my office unlike before. I hope you guys understand that.<strong>

**However, with that said I am still not giving up with any of my running stories and I am now actually planning on taking a step outside the fanfiction circle of InuYasha. No, I am not saying I am giving up on InuYasha altogether but I am expanding beyond that. During last weeks period I was watching another anime that helped me keep my mood fresh. That anime is PSALMS OF PLANETS: EUREKA 7. I liked this anime so much that this has actually prompted me to watch more mecha anime's just like how InuYasha prompted me to watch anime altogether. However, as you guys know that I was very unsatisfied with the ending of InuYasha that felt quite rushed. Same case with Eureka 7 but not with the original. My problem was with the sequel Astral Ocean. Difference is, I have an even bigger problem with the ending of AO. I mean really BIG. The rushed ending and the confusing plotline that leaves you questioning. Just like how I criticized the short length and rushed plot of the Final Act, I criticize the series of E7:AO overall. So in fits of RAGE, I actually came up with a one-shot that I am writing.**

**So either ways, please do leave a review and let me know how I doing so far with Loneliness and what do you guys think about me writing a one-shot based on Eureka 7?**

********Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you like it and I will see you around.********


	20. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Captured & Trapped

**Hey Guys! Sorry for the awfully late update. I have been very busy so I am obviously getting less writing time.**

******Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media especially InuYasha.******

* * *

><p>The cave was shrouded with darkness. But it wasn't empty. There was a half-demon standing in it. The whole cave was echoing with the sound of his panting. His eyes were wide because he was shocked. He was shocked because there no way a power that could break the barrier would instead be overwhelmed. The half-demon was confused.<p>

* * *

><p>Down below the hill, Suzume and Nobuhiro were waiting for their half-demon protector. He had just gone up to kill a demon but it was taking some time.<p>

"He is taking awfully long time." Nobu said.

"Do you think he is okay?" Suzume asked.

"Then it looks like there is only one way to find out." Nobu said.

With these words, Nobu began climbing the mountain.

"No don't go." Suzume said grabbing Nobu's hands.

"Huh! Why?" Nobu asked.

"Uhh! It's best… eh… I… think he will… ah… might... um be angry… I mean come ! I think he will come back." Suzume said.

Nobu's eyes were narrow with confusion. They were twitching. His face was slightly hanging open. In other words, he had no idea what had gotten into Suzume.

"Is there something wrong?" Nobu asked.

"No, nothing." Suzume replied normally.

"Then why were you hitching just now?" Nobu asked.

"I WASN'T HITCHING ON ANYTHING." Suzume yelled.

"You really were." Nobu said.

"No I am really not." Suzume said.

Nobu gave a soft sigh. Sometimes, he never understood women. Their habits, their behaviors but most importantly their heart, he never understood any of them. But this came as a no surprise. After all, she was a mermaid. Someone who wasn't even a human.

He then stepped down and moved closer towards Suzume. Then he kept his two hands above her either side of her shoulders.

"Look, if are scared then just tell me. I will not leave you." Nobu said.

"How did you know I was scared?" Suzume asked.

"Heh, Silly Fish. I have been with you for a very long time. Do you think I won't know you by now?" Nobu said.

He then gave a very warm smile. This somehow freaked Suzume out.

"Uhh! Nobu. This is not like you." Suzume said.

"Hmm! What do you mean?" Nobu asked.

"I mean. You have never used to act like this before. You have never taken anything serious in your life." Suzume said.

"I am acting this way because you are scared Suzume and if it's anything involving you then it is something that I should take very seriously." Nobu said.

"But why? Why are you still clinging on to me when I am just here with you to release your curse? I will die either ways." Suzume said.

"STUPID. WHY DO YOU EVEN THINK THAT WAY?" Nobu yelled.

"BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS WHAT I AM MEANT TO DO." Suzume yelled back.

Nobu just stood there. He was at lack of words. He had no valid argument for that one. Suzume then looked down and turned around.

"Sorry, for yelling at you. It's just that. I have always been alone for my whole life. I never had anything more to care about anything else other than you." Suzume said.

For a moment, there was silence. Both of the bodies were not speaking a word. They had nothing to say anything to each other. Because they had nothing more to say anything to say to each other, Nobu moved closer towards Suzume. Then the next moment, he just wrapped Suzume around his arms from behind.

"Sigh! What am I supposed to do then when you are dead?" Nobu asked.

For that moment, Suzume let herself sink in the embrace.

"You can do anything. Just don't be foolish and die." Suzume said.

"Sigh! You just don't understand, don't you?" Nobu asked.

At that very moment, they heard a loud explosion. The whole ground shook. Both of them looked around in confusion.

"What was that?" Suzume asked.

At that moment, Nobu looked up towards the top of the mountain. His eyes grew wide with what he saw. For that moment, he immediately began panicking.

"LOOK OUT!" He yelled.

Then he immediately grabbed Suzume and began running away from the scene. Once they got a little further away, both of them turned around as several huge pieces of rock crashed right on the spot where they were standing.

Both Nobu and Suzume's eyes widened. They were panting in shock. They couldn't believe that there would be such an event like this. But how come did this even happen? How could a rock suddenly fall from the top of the mountain out of nowhere? Something was happening, just what was that? They had no idea.

"What did just happen?" Suzume asked.

"Did he use his sword again? No, it doesn't seem like that. It was done by someone else, done by something else." Nobu said.

"Look, up there. The cave in which he went into is now closed." Suzume said.

"Then this mean…" Nobu said.

At that moment, Nobu turned around when something got slammed right into his face by an object, thus knocking him unconscious.

* * *

><p>InuYasha was just standing in the darkness. He was totally shocked by what had happened moments ago. The one attack that had worked so many times was cancelled. There was no way that could ever happen. After a very long time, his Tessaiga had failed to destroy a barrier.<p>

What was this barrier? How could it overcome the Red Tessaiga's power? What kind of power was this?

However, InuYasha did not give up. He was not going to get overwhelmed by some stupid barrier of unknown kind. He had done this before. It was not absolutely impossible. It was never impossible because he had made out of several situations like these.

He raised his sword again and swung it in the air again as blue streaks of light once again. However, once again the barrier consumed Tessaiga's attack. InuYasha still did not give up hope. He attacked the barrier again and again but it just wasn't working. This barrier was really of different kind. InuYasha's traditional attacks wouldn't just work.

It was only a matter of time InuYasha exhausted himself from all the failed attacks. He plopped down with sweat running down his head and him panting in exhaustion. This made no sense for once. Why would anybody enclose him inside the barrier with a demon? What is their aim to do that? None of this made absolutely any sense.

But he still did not want to give up. He always hated to back out from a problem. But more than that, he did not want to back out from his promise with Nobu and Suzume. After all, he never did back out from anybody with who he made promise for. He knew they were in danger and he was supposed to protect them. But instead he chose to leave them behind.

But was it really his fault? After all he did leave them behind hoping that they would not be in any type of danger. But it seems he made another mistake yet again.

He raised his sword and was about to strike the barrier one more time.

"It won't work." He heard a voice.

InuYasha froze on the spot. He looked around hoping to see from where the voice was coming from. But there was nobody. In fact, the tunnel was totally empty and it was pitch black to even see everything. Who did that voice belong to? Why was it talking to him?

"Try as much as you can. It won't work." The voice said again.

"Who is that? Who are you?" InuYasha asked.

"We just met a couple of moments ago." The voice said.

InuYasha slapped his palm on his forehead. Of Course, it was that eagle with which he fought a couple of moments ago. The voice travelled to him through the echo of the cave. That's how he could hear that it's voice.

He wasn't surprised at hearing the voice. But now he was surprised at realizing that he couldn't figure out who the voice belonged to. For that moment, he felt very stupid. It was so simple and he couldn't even realize that. But the thing that surprised him the most was the fact that the voice that talked to him was of a woman. That's right, a woman. He was surprised at the fact that this eagle was a female.

However, that was to be expected since he didn't really care about the gender of the demon but rather he was more focused at finishing the demon itself regardless of what gender it was. It wasn't until he didn't want to kill it.

"Okay, then guess we should have a talk then." InuYasha said.

With these words, InuYasha moved forward back inside the cave. The cave still had that foul stench of that of a demon's and it still sickened him. But there were things that still made no sense to him. Like why does this demon look so much not like a demon? Even her voice sounded very much unlike any demon. Unlike many demons who had cold and cruel voice. This one had a very warm voice and gentle voice.

InuYasha was indeed very much surprised by everything that happened. She still gave away the stench of a demon. But since there are so many things in question, he decided to give this demon a benefit of doubt. After all, he did want to know the answers.

It was only a matter of time until he was back to where he fought moments ago. There right a little farther away, the eagle was sitting in a corner. It was in a much better condition than before. Probably the serious blows that InuYasha sent were probably healed.

"So, you all done healing I see." InuYasha said.

"Considering the time you wasted trying to break that barrier, yes I healed myself pretty fast. But I am still healing." The bird said.

"Okay let's get straight to the point. What is going on?" InuYasha said.

"You are trapped with me over here." The eagle said.

"I can see that. I mean, why am I trapped with you over here? Why is there a barrier around this mountain?" InuYasha asked.

"From everything happening it is possible that there is someone who saw you as an obstruction in their job and only wants you out of the way." The eagle said.

"What?" InuYasha was surprised.

Somebody wanted him out of the way, but to do what? Did it have something to do with Suzume? If so, then who would it be? The only one who had anything to with anybody at that case it was Kenji coming for Suzume. Then again, even his motives weren't clear. Did Kenji get to them that easily? How could he track them so fast?

"What is wrong, boy?" the eagle asked.

InuYasha at that moment was caught off guard. He immediately snapped back to reality.

"What?" InuYasha asked.

"I said, what is wrong, boy?" The eagle asked.

InuYasha was wide eyed for once. He was not surprised by anything. He was surprised by the fact that somebody did not call him a half-demon. Even though it was rude, it was somewhat strange that a demon did not call him a half-demon. But that warm voice made it even less offensive. Something was not right, he knew it.

"Don't worry. This barrier may consume every attack but it will only last for a limited amount of time." The eagle said.

"I see. That's good to hear. The thing is now what am I supposed to do while I wait for the barrier to fade away." InuYasha said.

InuYasha looked away for once. Patience was never his grace side. But until the time was right, he couldn't do anything. There was no way to break the barrier. So in the end, all he could do was wait. He just had to be patient because there was no way he could get out of that predicament.

But in the meantime, would he be able to save Nobu and Suzume. He knew that those two were now captured since somebody locked him down. He just hoped that by the time he was out of there, he would not be too late.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden boy?" The eagle asked.

"That is none of your concern." InuYasha replied.

"Okay then. I won't press. But I am ready to listen if you want to say something to me." The eagle said.

Both of them kept quiet. They were waiting for the moment for the barrier to fade away. But it was taking awfully long time. The day was slowly passing by. InuYasha was just sitting there waiting with all the patience he had. But the barrier just wasn't fading away.

"Why do you have such a warm voice?" InuYasha asked.

"Heh! What kind of question is that?" The eagle said.

"I have always been ridiculed by demon all my life by calling me a half-breed. Why is it that you're the first demon to not call me that?" InuYasha said.

"I see. First of all, I got no reason to ridicule you, second, I know the word half-breed is a word of no respect and final I didn't even know you were a half-demon." The eagle said.

"WHAT! YOU TELL ME THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THESE." InuYasha said in a loud voice pointing to his two pointy ears.

"It was dark. How could I see when this is the only light we have?" The eagle said pointing to the opening above.

"BUT AT LEAST YOU COULD HAVE KNOWN MY SCENT BY NOW." InuYasha yelled.

For some reason, InuYasha was now pointing himself as a half-demon. If it was a couple of months ago then he would plant the person down under the ground who dared to call him a half-demon. Looks there was something about him that was changed.

"I am sorry. But I do not have senses." The eagle said.

"What do you mean? All demons have sharp senses." InuYasha asked.

"Well, this I haven't gotten any of those sharp senses that a demon would have. If I ever were one." The bird said.

"Huh! What do you mean?" InuYasha asked.

"Why do you ask boy?" The eagle asked.

"Because now I am curious. What are you trying to say and why did you kill those villagers?" InuYasha said.

"There is no reason for me to kill them." Eagle replied.

"So, you killed them for no reason? All this talk of yours makes no sense. I need some answers right now." InuYasha asked with his anger rising up.

"That is my answer there was no reason to kill them." The eagle said.

"Fine, then answer me this. What do you mean by if you ever were one?" InuYasha asked.

"Sigh! Guess, there no reason to stop you from finding out then. But I can already tell that you are not going to believe me." The eagle said.

"Just tell me already and then we can see if that is believable or not." InuYasha said.

"Sigh! I was never a demon to begin with." The bird said.

"What?" InuYasha said in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Before everything happened, I wasn't a demon. But I was rather an ordinary human being." The eagle said.

"You mean you were turned into a demon?" InuYasha asked.

InuYasha was now shocked and surprised both. A human being turned into a demon. This was the first of its kind case he had ever heard of. This made no sense at all. How could that even come to be?

"Yes. I was turned into a demon." The bird replied.

"But how?" InuYasha asked.

"I was cursed by somebody." The bird said.

"But why would anyone do that? How could anyone do that?" InuYasha asked.

"The reason that person did it because I knew the grave secret that was hidden from everyone else. That person turned me into a demon because I wouldn't be able to communicate with any human beings. That way that person could hide the truth. I was only able to talk to you because you carry the blood of a demon." The bird said.

"So why did you kill those villagers?" InuYasha asked.

"I didn't kill them. They tried to kill me because I was just visiting them to see my daughter." The eagle said.

"You… you have a… daughter?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, my sister is looking after her. But I am just concerned that something might happen to her. But I cannot face her. Because I am cursed as a demon, people get scared that I am there to destroy their village. That's why I was running away. Those villagers, they just died in the process." The bird said.

"But who turned you into a demon?" InuYasha asked.

"The person who turned me into a demon was…" The bird was saying.

When InuYasha heard the answer, he was wide eyed with shock. He never even saw it coming. How could he not see it coming?

* * *

><p>Suzume opened her eyes and she immediately jerked up. She was panting from everything that had happened panic she looked around. She was in some sort of a small room. She was laid over a small futon while she was unconscious.<p>

For once, she was surprised. Why would her captors keep her so comfortably? She was expecting to find herself tied up to a rope or something but there was nothing. This was indeed somewhat strange. Where was Nobu? That was one question that plagued her.

At that very moment, the door slid open. Suzume did not look behind because she was scared.

"I am sorry for actually bringing you forcefully. But I thought this was the only way I could do it." She heard a voice.

Suzume eyes widened with shock. She had heard that voice somewhere. She in fact knew that voice. Not hesitating a moment, she turned around.

Suzume could not even believe what she was seeing. Right in front of her was standing a woman she met.

"I know you don't remember me. But it has been an awfully long time, my dear sister." **SEN** said.

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><p><strong>So guys, once again I am sorry for such a late update. My work schedule has been very hectic and I am getting lesser time to write. <strong>Because of my long departure from this story I am pretty sure that this chapter may not live up-to my previous ones.<strong> But I will not give up on both of my stories so I will keep updating at least once a week on either NEO or this story.**

**So guys please do leave a review and let me know how I am doing with the story so far. I will try my best to keep updating. But that it for now.**

**Until then, BYE.**


	21. Arc 1 (God's Curse) - Two Prisoners

**In case if you were wondering, yes this is a new chapter of Loneliness. Please enjoy the chapter.**

******Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any Intellectual Properties belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Sunrise or Viz Media especially InuYasha.******

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><p>The night had fallen outside and there was barely any sound. InuYasha had sat inside the whole cave. Patience wasn't his best side but he managed to spend the day anyways. Well… after bantering for quite some time… actually for the whole the whole day, the barrier was finally down. And he was glad that it was down. After all if it were to be permanent he couldn't even imagine how he could live another 200 years of his life locked up in that cave.<p>

With the anxiety bothering him down to his soul, InuYasha stood up.

"You are going." The eagle asked.

"Yes, I know they are alive. That's why I am going after them before it is too late." InuYasha said. "It's time."

InuYasha was just about to take his step forward.

"Idiot" The eagle said.

InuYasha froze with his body giving an awkward position where his legs and hands are bent and he was standing like a scarecrow. Except, that he had one of his legs hanging in the air.

For some reason, it felt like a position that an anime character would do. **Oh!** The writer just realized he had been going off track from his story. The writer would like to apologize. So onward with the story.

Then InuYasha stood normally. His body was giving off a very dark aura.

"What did you just say?" InuYasha asked in rage as he turned around with his shaking right fist raised to the level of his chest.

But then at that moment, he calmed himself down. He realized that he had been very impatient and had been ranting all day. He then gave a light punch to himself near the cheek and then dashed off outside.

"Is the barrier really gone? Is it really the time?" InuYasha asked himself again and again.

His answer was a yes as he dashed through the area where he was repelled by the unbreakable barrier. Moments later he was out of the cave.

InuYasha was glad. He was finally out of the imprisonment and he was now finally free. He was free…

Somehow, those words repeated inside his heads again and again. He was free. That meant, he didn't have to run after those two. He didn't care what would happen to them. He could run off and find the truth behind his dreams.

But NO! It's not right.

He swore that he would assist them till they reached the lake. He had to get them back. He had heard the entire story from Nobu and he knew what Suzume was capable of. He couldn't risk them or else, anything bad could happen if they get captured.

With no more hesitation with him, he took a deep breath and then he dashed forward. Then he leaped down towards the land below.

"What do you think the priestess would want with this man?" he heard a voice.

"I don't know. Lady Sen hasn't told us anything." He heard a second voice.

Nobuhiro could hear these two people, but he couldn't see anything. All of his key senses were functional. He could hear and he could fee. Hell, he could even smell. But he couldn't see anything because his eyes were covered by a cloth. On top of that, he couldn't even move because he was completely bound to the shackles that did not allow him to move.

Where was he? Probably back at the village. Listening to the word 'Sen' made it concrete proof that he was captured the villagers of the previous village. Why did they bring him here? He had no idea why. He didn't even know what happened before that because he was unconscious. By the time he woke up, he found himself all in shackles.

Why were they doing this? He had no idea. But he didn't care about himself. He could just die and then just revive anytime. At that moment, he remembered the person who was supposed to be with her.

Suzume!

What happened to her? Where was she? What did they do to her? These were the major questions he was asking himself. He had to. What if they did something to her? She was a mermaid. What if she would be captured and killed?

Nobu stirred at that moment and then the metal shackles made a tingling noise across the room, cellar, corridor… wherever he was at.

"Huh! What was that?" he heard the previous man say.

"The boy has woken up from his slumber. I think it's time we should let Lady Sen know." He heard another man say.

"Then you stay here. I will go and let her know." The first man said.

Then there were echoes of footsteps going outside.

Somewhere in some house, Suzume was sitting in a room in front of a priestess who claims to be her sister.

"So you are my sister?" Suzume said.

"Of course I am. We were parted long time ago." Sen said.

"But how is that even possible? I thought you were all dead." Suzume said.

"Only the two of us survived during that time. The rest were all killed." Sen said.

Then Sen moved towards Suzume and then kneeled right in front of her.

"But none of that matters anymore because now we have finally reunited." Sen said.

Then not sparing a moment, she hugged Suzume.

Suzume on the other hand was confused. She didn't know what to say or do. This priestess claimed to be her sister. But how did she even survive? But now that she came to think about it, how did she herself survive that night.

After a brief moment of hug, Sen pulled herself back.

"Don't worry sister. Now I will not let anybody harm you, neither that man nor this world." Sen said.

Nobu!

She suddenly realized. Nobu wasn't there in the room. He wasn't anywhere around. He was kept captive?

"Where is the man that was with me?" Suzume asked.

"Why do you ask sister?" Sen asked.

"Where is he?" Suzume asked.

"He is in captive." Sen said.

"Captive? But why?" Suzume asked.

Sen then stood up and then turned around.

"Because I want to prevent the catastrophe that he will bring upon this world." Sen said.

With these words, she began moving outside.

"Catastrophe? What do you mean? Nobu can't bring down a catastrophe." Suzume asked.

Sen suddenly stopped in front of the door.

"You will not understand it sister."

With these words, she went outside.

"HEY WAIT!" Suzume yelled.

But then at moment, Suzume couldn't feel her legs. It felt like they weren't there. She could see her legs, but she just couldn't feel them. Did she put some spell on her?

Suzume could do nothing. She just stared at the door in disbelief. Why did Sen, the woman who claims to be her sister, do such a thing? She had no idea.

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><p><strong>Sigh! So guys, it has been one year since I began writing fanfiction and it has already been one year anniversary for Loneliness. Now that would have been a good thing if I at least had kept this story updated and if I hadn't done a short random update. But then again everytime I try to write, I just go blank with the choice of dialogues and screenplay. So yeah guys, I am hopeless for not keeping this updated. Even this chapter I wrote has got nothing. Just a few useless babble and that's it. So I will not ask for any apologies, please feel free to hate me as much as you want.<strong>

**However, that does not mean that I have given up on the story. I wouldn't boldly claim that there would be 3 arcs if I were to give up on it. So I will try my best to update as far as possible.**

**Please do leave a review and let me know what should I do to improve my writing and also let me how bad this chapter was because I will admit it this is not good at all.**

**Until then, see you all next time.**


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